FateRWBY
by Jag2853
Summary: Archer, Rider, Saber, Lancer, caster, Assassin, Berserker. These are the seven classes of heroic Spirits. And when Ruby Rose summons Archer, she has no idea what's happening. Archer tells them that Heroic Spirits are being summoned on Remnant, but he has no idea how. Now aremed only with legends and three Command seals, the Irregular Grail War is about to begin!
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Long time no see. Sorry I haven't updated in like, what, two years? Life got busy, that's all I can say. Long story short this idea came to my head, my friends wanted to read this, so I made it. Not sure how long it will be or how frequently I'll be able to update. I'm going into the Navy so that'll eat up a chunk of time. But regardless, I hope you enjoy it! Please comment as well!

Chapter one: The Lancer, the Archer, and the Rose

"You sure you don't want to get that checked out Ruby?" Blake asked, commenting on the dark red spots on the back of Ruby's right hand.

Ruby took a look at her hand. The marks had gotten darker since that morning, and they did seem to be spreading, but the pain had been subsiding over the past few hours. "I think it's going away. I probably just bruised it in combat practice yesterday or something. If it's still here tomorrow I'll go to the infirmary." It did concern her though. She went to bed the night before just fine, but she woke up the next morning with burning red spots on her hand. Still, Ruby didn't want to make a big deal out if it.

Blake shrugged and picked up her books. "Jaune had some marks on the back of his hand too. Did you guys spar yesterday?"

"Not with each other but yeah. That's probably when it happened." Ruby said as they left the class room. "You going to the library again?"

Blake reached into her bag and pulled out several books. "Gotta return these. I'll meet up with you guys at the room?"

"See ya there." Ruby said as they parted ways. Fall had come to Vale so it was already dark as Ruby left the building. As the door behind her closed a sharp, burning sensation engulfed the back of her hand. Ruby grabbed it and bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain. "Maybe I should go to the infirmary now." Ruby thought. But as the pain subsided she felt something tug at her. Ruby surveyed her surroundings. There was no one else around since classes just ended for the day and most students were still inside talking or waiting for their friends, but she felt something pulling at her, drawing her to the forest not that far away. Without thinking to call for back up she walked up to the edge of the forest. She couldn't see anything, and this close to the school there was little to no chance there'd be any Grimm, but still she felt something just beyond the tree line.

She pulled her scroll out and had it ready to call her locker and Crescent Rose to her at any moment. She was only a few yards in when she realized what was calling to her. "My master gave me two orders before sending me here." Suddenly the air in front of her became blurry as a person materialized out of it. He stood before her wearing a dark green body suit with armor of the same color. His dark brown hair was combed back save a for a single strand across his face and in his hands he held what appeared to be a long and a short spear wrapped in cloth. "Capture and bring Blake Belladonna to him and kill any other masters I come across."

Ruby tried to call for her locker but the second her thumb twitched the long spear flew forward destroying her scroll. "Forgive me." He said as he closed his eyes and bowed his head. "My master was very clear to avoid fights if at all possible." He pulled the spear back and the cloth fell off it revealing a deep, crimson shaft and blade.

As the cloth fell off he put the shorter one on his back. He grasped the spear who both hands and fell instantly into to striking position. He thrust forward with super human speed but Ruby was able to dodge in a flurry of rose petals. She jumped upward onto a tree branch out of the reach of his spear. "Who are you and why do you want Blake?" Ruby asked as she calculated her next move. Without her scroll there was no way for her to call for help, and she could tell any attempt to fight this man alone and unarmed would only end badly for her.

"My name is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Servant of the Lancer class." He said before jumping to strike in the tree. She jumped, narrowly avoiding the sweep of his spear. Using the tree to propel herself she spring boarded her self behind him. Her only chance was to run. She reached the ground and rolled to her feet. Before she could even activate her semblance the man was already in front of her again. He struck her with the shaft whipping her into a tree. "As for why I'm after your friend, my master commanded me too. That is my only reason."

He readied his spear for another strike. Ruby readied her self as well. "When the spear deflects off of me I'll use that to unbalance him and run away." She thought, thinking the misdirection would give her the opening she needed to escape. He thrust forward, his spear making contact with her abdomen. But as soon as it did Ruby knew something was wrong. Instinct took over and she shifted her body upwards. Instead of deflecting off her because of her Aura the spear head embedded itself deep inside her stomach.

Diarmuid pulled the spear out and swung it around, cleaning the blood off the blade as Ruby slumped to the ground. "I was trying to end this quickly." He said, looking at her with pity and regret. "Make no mistake, I don't enjoy what my master is making me do. If I had a will of my own…"

Ruby coughed and blood began spilling out her mouth. She fell forward and tried to crawl away. Diarmuid kneeled down and rolled her over. "I want to make sure I get a clean shot. Forgive me."

He stood back up and as he lifted his spear to deliver the final blow Ruby let out a gurgled cry. She raised her burning hand and saw the red spots spread to form a symbol of sorts. A Rose with a stem and a flower divided in two parts. Suddenly Diarmuid jumped back as a rush of wind engulfed the area. Ruby couldn't see the source but a white blue light shot from the ground forcing her to close her eyes. When she opened them another man dressed in dark red clothes with snow white hair stood before her. Diarmuid pulled his other spear from his back and held it at the ready. The new man opened his hands and uttered two, simple words. "Trace on." Two single edged short swords appeared in his hands. "Leave now and you'll get to fight another day." He said, staring down her attacker.

Diarmuid looked at the man, then to Ruby, then back to the man, and smiled. "Well, I guess I can't exactly fulfill my orders if I die here now can I?" He put his spears on his back and took a step backwards. "Until next time." And with that he disappeared.

The swords disappeared and the man in red turned around and kneeled down to examine her wounds. Without saying a word he scooped her up in his arms and ran to the school. He ran faster than even she could, the wind filling her ears drowning out any noise. He ran across the court yard dodging students and jumping over obstacles until he came to the door. Instead of slowing down he simply barreled through taking the door off its hinges.

Students parted to avoid the door as it flew past them leaving the center of the hall open for him to run. Ruby held onto him with what little strength she had left, clinging on to consciousness as darkness threatened to over take her. The man didn't stop running until a teacher stopped him. "What's the meaning of thi…" The teacher stopped as Ruby tilted her head to see professor Oobleck. "Follow me. Quickly!" He said. They followed Professor Oobleck where he led. Ruby began fading in and out as the man placed her on a table in a sterile white room. Two men in scrubs walked in and she finally passed out as they began cutting her clothes off of her.

Yang waited outside the operating room staring at the man who brought her sister in. Weiss and Blake had wanted to come but had been told to stay in the room until a teacher told them they could see Ruby. The man sat across from her quietly. Seemingly not moving, even to breathe. "So are you going to tell me what happened now?" She asked for the third time.

He looked up at her. "I told you. I won't say anything unless my master wants me to."

Yang got out of her seat and moved towards him. "My sister is in the OR, I want to know what happened now. And stop calling her 'master', that's creepy." She said.

He got up. He was at least a head taller than her, and she could tell that in terms of combative abilities it was impossible to even begin comparing them. "Oh?" He said inquisitively. "Even though you your self are a master?"

"Excuse me?" Yang said as she took a step back.

He pointed at her right arm. "Your glove. Take it off." He said.

Yang did as he asked and removed her glove to reveal the marks that started showing up around lunch time. "Command seals. Once you summon your servant they'll be fully formed. That's all I'll say until my master is back. There's a lot she needs to know as well." The man turned around to sit down again.

Yang sat back down and put her glove back on. She had no idea what this guy was talking about but he was the one who saved Ruby, and he saw the person who attacked her. "Are you a huntsman?" She asked.

The man turned his head and looked at her. "I'm a guardian of sorts. No more." He sat down again. "Get some rest. Your sister will be on the table for a while." Yang tried to protest but was ultimately taken by sleep.

Next thing she knew Yang stood at the shore of a great ocean. She looked to her left, then to her right, but there was no end in sight. Deep inside her she could tell there simply was no end to this ocean. A loud rumbling came from behind her. Yang turned around to see a vast army, almost as endless as the ocean she just observed, just over the horizon behind her. She fully turned around to wait for their arrival. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, and hours to days yet the army still remained just beyond the horizon. Always making progress, but never getting any closer.

Yang was awoken by a sudden shake. She opened her eyes to see a man with dark tan skin and sandy blonde hair kneeling in front of her. "Hey dad." She said. "What time is it?"

"About three in the morning." He said. "Ruby just got out of surgery. They said as soon as she wakes up we can see her." He helped her up and turned to the man who was sitting in the exact same position he'd been in when she went to sleep. "Are you the guy who saved my daughter?" He asked. The man looked up and nodded with out saying a word. "I can't thank you enough. What's your name?"

"Don't bother dad." Yang said slightly annoyed as she rubbed her eyes. "He won't talk till Ruby wakes up."

Tai Yang looked from the man to her. "What? Why?" He asked.

Yang stood up and yawned. "Cause Ruby is his master or something like that."

Tai Yang looked at him and moved his body ever so slightly so he was between the man and his daughter. "Hey, I'm not sure what's going on but either tell me who you are or leave."

The man stood up and cracked his neck. "I have no desire to be here. If I could leave I would. But wether you like it or not I'm bound to your youngest daughter and only she can dispel me from this world."

Tai Yang stepped forward. "All right look here bub…"

"Mr. Xiao Long, I understand your concern but I must ask you to calm down." All three of them looked down the hall to see the head master of Beacon Academy walking down the hall. He approached them and analyzed the man in red. "Sir, while I appreciate what you've done I take the safety of my students very, very seriously. If you know anything about who attacked Miss. Rose and how they did it I must ask that you tell us."

He opened his mouth to speak when the doors to the OR opened. A man in white scrubs walked out. "Oh, professor Ozpin, glad you're here. The patient just woke up. You and immediate family can see her for a bit."

Taiyang and Yang rushed in with Ozpin following behind them. Taiyang kneeled at his daughters bed side and ran his hand through her hair. "Hey baby, how are you feeling?"

Ruby groaned as she looked at her abdomen. "Ok, considering." She said.

Ozpin walked up behind Taiyang. "Ms. Rose. Do you remember who attacked you?" He asked. "What did he look like?"

Before Ruby could answer the man in red appeared on the opposite side of the bed as if shimmering into existence. "I need to speak with her. Leave." He said.

Yang opened her mouth to protest but before she could Ruby spoke up. "Wait." She said. "If you need to say anything you can say it with them here." She tried to sit up but her strength failed her and her head fell to the pillow. "Who are you? Who was that guy?" She asked.

The man shrugged. "If that is what you wish, so be it. The man who attacked you Ruby was Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. And he, like myself, is not of this world." Everyone stood there in quiet disbelief, but none of them said a word. "In our world he and I, and others like us, have long since died. But our legends and stories lived on and, in time, our spirits ascended and we became what's known as Heroic Spirits." He walked froward and grabbed Ruby's right hand, showing it to The whole room. The back of her hand was marked with three symbols that formed a blood red rose. "These marks on your hand are called command seals. They mark you my master and I your servant. For some reason I have been summoned to this world." He gently put her hand backdown. "Others will seek you out for the sole purpose of killing you. Wether you like it or not my life has become your shield, and your will has become my sword."

everyone stood there in stunned silence. Ozpin scowled. Not as if he were mad but as if deep in thought. "And what the actual hell does all this mean?" TaiYang finally yelled. "What do you mean not of this world? Who he hell is after my daughter?"

"I honestly don't know." The man in red said. "Normally upon being summoned servants are given short but specific instructions on what they are supposed to do. This time I was told nothing. My master was in danger and she subconsciously summoned me. I was told nothing else. But there are other servants out there. And at least one tried to kill her."

"And how do we stop this person?" Ozpin asked.

"There are only two options right now. Kill me or fight." He said.

"Wait, what do you mean kill you?" Ruby asked weakly.

" The command seals are three claims of absolute obedience. If you tell me to do anything using a command seal I cannot disobey. Even if that order is to take my own life. That is the only chance of walking off this path, though even that isn't a sure bet." The man said matter of factly, as if the idea of dying meant something completely different than it did for most people.

Ruby closed her eyes and laid her head on the bed. A moment passed and she spoke. "That guy said he was here for Blake. We have to stop him." She said, opening her eyes again.

"Now Ruby wait…" TaiYang said before being cut off by Ozpin.

"Mr. XiaoLong, it's been a hard night for everyone here, we can discuss all this later. In the meantime I must speak with Ms. Belladonna. Everyone, let's let Ruby rest."

Everyone began to leave when Ruby grabbed the mans arm. "You never actually told me your name." She said.

Without looking at her he began to disappear. "You can call me Archer."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: The Summonings

The gun slammed into Archer's back, pushing him closer to the gallows. The noose swung loosely, getting larger with each step he took. Yet with each step he was even more sure he'd done the right thing. If he died, and that meant people wouldn't be sad, then his death would be a good thing. He'd dedicated his life to being a hero of justice. And now he'd be able to do that both in death, and after.

Ruby opened her eyes and tilted her head towards the clock above the door. It was already two in the after noon by the time she woke up. "You saved them and they killed you." She said, Archer materializing as she spoke. "You saved them and they blamed you. You fought to end that war, you fought so no one would cry. They executed you and you didn't do anything to stop them. Why?"

Archer leaned on the wall and looked at the ceiling. "I was a fool." He said. "I thought I could save everyone. And I thought if my death could achieve that then it'd be worth it. It was only after I became a Heroic Spirit that I realized the truth if something my father told me years and years ago."

Ruby was about to ask what that was when the door opened. Professor Oobleck walked in with a wheel chair and immediately began talking. "Mrs. Rose thank god you're all right when this man brought you in last night I was so worried. Professor Port and Goodwitch searched the forest for your attacker but found absolutely nothing! Also why is this man still here and who is he? Unimportant! Professor Ozpin needs to speak with you two and he sent me to bring you to his office. The doctor said you'd be ok to move in a wheel chair! You, put her in it for me."

Archer gently picked her up and placed her in the chair. He pulled the breaks from the wheels and they began going to the office. The part of the building they were in was rarely visited by students so they had an easy time for the first few minutes of the walk. But once they got to the actual class rooms people began giving them looks. A number of students saw Archer carry Ruby in, bleeding in his arms. And as with any school news travels fast. The students looked at the three of them as they walked down the hall. They retreated into whispering huddles, trying to figure out who the man was and who could have hurt Ruby so badly.

Ever since she arrived at beacon people had been staring at her. Most of them spent years at a prep school like Signal getting ready for Beacon and she was let in after one street fight. Of course she'd attended signal, but she was allowed to skip two years. Most of the rumors didn't reflect that though.

Oobleck hurried them along trying to get Ruby out of the prying eye. As they approached the office the door opened, revealing professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, and Tai Yang."Please, come in." Ozpin asked. They entered and approached his desk. "We've informed Mrs. Belladonna about the attackers objective last night." Ozpin got up and looked to Glynda, then to Tai Yang. "Sir, what you told us last night is difficult to believe."

"To say the least." Glynda muttered under her breath.

Ozpin gave her a sideways glance then continued. "But too much is unexplainable otherwise. The attacker managed to injure mrs. Rose despite her aura." He said, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. "The surgeon had a difficult time with her because he could only work with the already existing opening. Like wise you your self have seemingly impossible abilities. Students saw how fast you ran. Your ability to disappear and reappear at will. And the power to manifest weapons such as you do. Any one of those alone could be explained away as a semblance, but not all three together."

Ozpin approached Ruby and handed her a stack of papers. "What's more," he said, "Mrs. Rose here is already almost completely healed. Care to explain that?" Ozpin gave archer a look, like he suspected what was happening in regards to that.

"So you choose to believe me until you find something else to believe?" Archer said as Ruby began reading the medical report.

"We believe you because the evidence gives us little choice right now. "Ozpin replied. "And regardless, the safety of our students must take priority."

"Then you'll hate what I have to say." Archer replied cracking a smile. "I've identified eight other potential masters in this school."

Finally TaiYang stepped forward to talk. "What, are the rest of them kids too?"

"Of course." Archer replied. "Who else could it be?"

Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Sun, and Neptune all sat in stunned silence as Ozpin explained everything to them. "That's what you meant when you called Ruby your master yesterday?" Yang asked.

"I meant that quite literally." He replied. "And now that we have the facts out of the way it's time for some conjecture." He turned to face Ozpin. "A Heroic Spirit can be summoned for any number of reasons. But the only way to be summoned as a servant is via the Holy Grail."

"And that would be what exactly?" TaiYang asked.

Archer paused for a moment. "Hopes, miseries, a miracle, a curse. All anyone knows for sure is that it has the ability to grant any wish. But it requires sacrifices to do so."

"What kind of sacrifices, exactly?" Ozpin asked hesitantly.

"The rules are simple." Archer said. "Seven mages are chosen to be masters to seven servants. One for each. They fight to the death till only one servant master pair remain." The six defeated servants power the Grail which is supposed to grant the victors wish."

"Supposed to?" Glynda asked.

"Something always goes wrong at the end. Which brings me to my last point." He said. "The last thing I remember before Ruby summoned me was the dying in the Fifth Holy Grail." He paused for a moment, as if that should mean something. "We Heroic Spirits exist outside of time. I should remember that Grail War, I should remember dying in it, but it shouldn't be my most recent memory, per say."

"So what you're saying is all the rules are out the window?" TaiYang replied.

"There are nine masters in is room. Meaning there's a total of ten at least. Probably more." Archer replied. "If you want to protect your students we have one choice. Have them summon their servants, defeat any and all enemy masters and servants, and figure out what is happening to make all this happen."

The room remained silent. Sun turned his head to Neptune. "Dude. We're gonna be Mages!"

Archer rolled his eyes. "Not even close. However your aura is an acceptable substitute for mana, the energy a Mage uses to sustain a servant." He then turned to Ozpin. "If they so wish, I'll set up the summoning rituals so they may fight."

"And what if I don't allow it?" Ozpin asked.

"You may as well kill them now and save the enemy the trouble. The fact that they have Master potential makes them a threat and thus a target. If they don't want to that's their choice, but it's up to them."

"Well then." Ozpin said as he grabbed his cane. "You'd better get going."

Archer disappeared with a shimmer. "I'll find suitable places for the rituals and make the preparations. Shouldn't take me more than an hour."

Ozpin sat at his desk. "Very well. Oobleck, Mr. XiaoLong, please take the students to the sparring room for the time being.

Oobleck and TaiYang obliged and ushered the kids out leaving Ozpin and Glynda alone. "This is insanity." She said as she adjusted her glasses. "Heroes from another world are manifesting here and our students are getting caught in the cross fire?"

"I don't like it either." He said. "But we deal with the impossible everyday. This isn't as absurd as we'd like it to be." He got up and looked out to the courtyard. Students bustled about, heading to classes or combat practice, as long as this was happening all his students were in danger. And more importantly the Fall Maiden was at risk. "We need to move up our time table."

"Is that safe?" Glynda asked as she began pulling out her scroll.

"At this point it doesn't matter. Contact General Ironwood, we need to tell him. Also, perhaps we should inform Mr. XiaoLong about the maiden."

Yang stood in the dimly lit room staring at the intricate circle drawn on the floor. There were several tables with stacks of old text books on them. Most of them looked like they hadn't seen use since her parents attended. "Normally an incantation would be needed but I should be able to circumvent it for you." Archer had said. All she had to do was will a servant to appear apparently.

"That'd be so much easier if I actually knew who this person I'm supposed to be summoning was." Yang thought. Regardless, she stepped into the circle and put her right had out. She tried to focus but her thoughts kept wandering. Whoever attacked her sister would be coming back, and for some reason they were after Blake. She had to be able to protect her friends. She closed her eyes and tried to focus. She stood there for several minutes but nothing happened. Eventually her thoughts began to drift to the dream she'd had the night Ruby was attacked, but this time something was different. Though the army remained where it was a single, imposing figure began to approach her.

Her eyes flew open as the room was suddenly lit with a blue light that emanated from the circle. Books began to open and fly off the tables as wind blew about the room nearly knocking her down. Finally it ended with a blinding, blue flash. Yang rubbed her eyes and looked at the man before her.

He looked to be nearly seven feet tall. His hair and beard were scarlet and his skin looked like it had been tanned by a life time of being in the sun. He wore what looked like some sort of ancient armor made of bronze and a large, regal cape the same color of his hair. Yang tried to speak but his very presence brought her soul to its knees. Suddenly his arm moved and with one hand he picked Yang off the ground. Yang wanted to yell at him to put her down but she was to shocked to say anything.

The man looked at her. She could tell he was judging her worth on a physical level. After looking at her for a few seconds he smiled and put her down. "I am Iskandar the Great, Emperor of Macedonia, servant of the Rider class, and King of Conquerors! You have summoned me, by what right do you claim to be my master?" His voice boomed, reverberating through her whole body like a violent explosion.

Yang knew instantly any hesitation on her part would be seen as weakness. And if she made him think she was weak it'd be next to impossible to gain his respect. "My name is Yang XiaoLong. I summoned you because I need your help. My friends are in danger and if I want to have any chance to save them I'll need you with me."

"With you?" He said, asking himself more than her. "Very well! I, Iskandar the Great, recognize you as my Master."

Yang had no idea what to expect in the coming days, all she knew was that this guy was gonna make it a wild ride.

Weiss sat on the floor, staring in awe at the woman who'd materialized before her. People had referred to her as princess her whole life, a cute joke referring to her status as an heiress, but this person before her, she was true royalty. Even though she hadn't said a word, even opened her eyes, Weiss could feel it.

Her blonde hair was tied neatly in a bun with a blue ribbon, but had two strands on either side of her head that stopped just before her shoulders, and a tuft of hair that jutted up and outwards. She stood there, her hands resting on the hilt of a long sword, when she finally opened her eyes and spoke. "I am Artoria Pendargon, Servant of the Saber class, King of the Britons, and the King of Knights. I ask you, are you my master?"

Weiss sat there, stunned by what happened. "Yes?" She said, unsure of what was happening. Suddenly she realized how she must have looked and immediately stood up.

Artoria tried to smile but failed to. "I must admit, this is all very confusing." Shen said. "Do you know why I was summoned?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Weiss replied. "Apparently someone like you is after one of my friends and attacked another."

Artoria scowled as if analyzing the situation. "I was supposed to receive directions on what to do. But I didn't."

"Yes, we went over this prior to summoning. We aren't sure how or why this is happening but the regular rules don't seem to apply here." Weiss told her.

Artoria smiled and her sword vanished. She bowed to Weiss slightly. "Very well. I recognize you as my master and look forward to solving this mystery with you."

Blake didn't know what to expect when she summoned her servant. Using a magic ritual to summon a hero from another world wasn't something she learned at Beacon or from the White Fang. But she certainly wasn't expecting the man sitting before her in such a lax manner. He sat in the middle of the circle with his legs crossed hugging an exceptionally long katana. His eyes were closed as if he were sleeping and Blake realized he was using the sword to support his body while he took a nap. "Some great hero." She thought. "Umm, hello?" Blake finally asked.

The man opened his eyes and yawned. "Summoned again already? This is a pleasant surprise." He said. "My name is Sasaki Kojiro. I'm a servant of the Assassin class and you must be my new Master." The man stood up and stretched before putting his sword on his back. "Now, could you tell me what it is exactly that's happening?"

"Someone sent their servant, a lancer, after me and hurt one of my friends in the process." Blake said, carefully choosing her words so she didn't let on more than she wanted to.

"And you have an idea of who it was but don't want to let anyone know until you know for sure. To avoid the consequences if at all possible." Kojiro said mater of factly.

Blake was surprised by his statement. Even though she gave him nothing to go off of he figured it out himself. Still, she found herself getting annoyed by how casually he was taking all this. "Yeah. She said. How did you know?" She said, her voice reflecting her increasingly short temper.

"I am your servant and you are my master. It'll be difficult to hide secrets from each other." He walked out of the circle and walked to the door. "Very well, as long as you're not like my last master this should be a relatively enjoyable arrangement. I look forward to serving you and solving this problem."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: Bonding

Team JNPR was all gathered together in their room with the three servants they'd summoned earlier that day. When they got back to the room Jaune explained everything that had happened that morning to Pyrrha and what they'd been told. After that their servants materialized to prove it. Pyrrha was surprised of course, but she believed them. She sat on the far side of the room as the others talked with each other.

They'd had a meeting earlier after the summonings to discuss their next steps. With no clear direction to go in they were dismissed from classes for the day and told to bond with their servants. This made the room a tad more crowded than usual since there were three extra people, luckily they were all rather small.

It had mostly been small talk since all the important mission related stuff had been discussed at length earlier. With no leads on who sent Lancer to abduct Blake and no idea how the servants appeared in their world in the first place Ozpin said he would focus on gathering Intel. "So…" Ren said to the girl sitting next him. "Do you prefer Frankenstein, or some sort of nick name like Fran?"

The girl grunted in lieu of speaking, but beneath the grunt they could vaguely make out the sound of "Fran". Apparently in her world she'd never truly existed but was, instead, a character from a novel that had become a legend in its own right in just a few short centuries. She wore a plain white dress and had two huge bolts on either side of her head as well as a horn sticking out from her forehead.

"Well that settles that!" Nora said cheerfully. "What about you Astolfo? You have any nicknames you like?" She asked.

Astolfo sat at the desk next to Nora's bed. Despite clearly stating he was a male he had a very slender build, a very androgynous appearance, and had been summoned wearing a skirt and thigh highs. He also had several bows and various ornaments in his hair. After the meeting he quickly ran off while they were heading back to the room. He arrived just a few minutes after the rest wearing the girls school uniform, claiming he'd wanted to try it on. "Astolfo or Rider is just fine." He said.

"This is all… very interesting." Pyrrha said. "What about you Jean? Are you adjusting well?" Pyrrha asked the servant ho stood next to Jaune.

"Yes." She replied. "I thank you for your patience in this matter, It must all be very disconcerting. I pray this conflict is resolved quickly and with minimal bloodshed." She said, bowing her head in thanks.

Pyrrha was surprised at how Similar Jaune and Jean were. Her hair, which was tied in a long braid that went the length of her back, was the same color as Jaune's hair. Even their names, Jaune Arc and Jean of Arc, were nearly identical. It was almost as if Jean was just a female version of Jaune. She'd been summoned wearing armor and carrying a sort of spear tipped battle standard but had chosen to don the Beacon Academy girls uniform like Astolfo.

"So why do you wear girl clothes?" Nora asked Astolfo abruptly.

Ren put his face in his hand. "Nora." He said.

"Funny story about that actually." Astolfo replied. "My legend says I was the most handsome of Charlemagne's twelve Paladins but that's not quite accurate." He got up and started twirling and raising his hands in the air. "I was actually the cutest! As for why I wear girl clothes, I just like cute things."

"Well, they certainly suit you." Pyrrha said.

"You can say that again!" Nora said as she stood up and picked Astolfo off the ground. Suddenly she stopped and looked over to Ren. "Oh Reeeeen…" She said.

"If you even think about it I won't you make you pancakes for dinner." Ren said before she could even finish her sentence.

Nora looked down dejectedly before suddenly perking back up and looking at Jaune. "Oh Jaaaaune…"

Team RWBYs room was far more crowded than usual. There were twice as many people, but Iskandar made it feel like there were three more people beyond that. "Hey Iskandar can you move a bit? Your blotting out the sun." Yang said from her top bunk. "Any ways are we gonna come up with a plan or what?" Yang asked, looking at everyone gathered there.

Artoria stepped forward. "Was it truly Diarmuid who attacked Ruby?" She asked. "I fought both with and against him several times in the Fourth Holy Grail War. He wouldn't attack an unarmed girl unless his master forced him to."

"There was no mistaking those weapons. Only the famous knight of Fianna wielded dual spears like those. And he told Ruby his name." Archer said, materializing into the room. He'd gone scouting the forest to see if he could find any clues. As he'd expected he found nothing. "As for that last part I think you're right. In a straight up fight I'd defeat him easily, but not before Ruby died of blood loss." Ruby grabbed her torso and winced as she thought about how close she came to death. "He could have easily won if he had played a war of attrition. The only logical conclusion is he was engaging in activities that went against his code of honor, and he used the loop hole I gave him as a way out."

Kojiro sat on the floor next to Blake's bed. "So we can assume Lancers master is a less than honorable one. Who only sees his servant as a means to an end. This could work to our advantage." He said. "Lancer will try to act according to his code while performing tasks where that may no be possible."

"And that'll make him him sloppy." Blake replied. "You sure you're up to fighting him Kojiro? When I summoned you you were taking a nap." Blake said, crossing her arms and giving him a side ways glance.

"My apologies master." Kojiro said as a smile spread across his face. "Last master didn't afford me near as much freedom as you. I ended up picking napping up as a hobby."

Yang flopped on her back and sighed. She'd hoped this whole thing would be a bit more exciting. "Ok but when can we actually do something about this?" Yang asked from her bunk.

"A true conqueror knows when to advance and when to stay still." Iskandar said as he looked out the window. "Now is the later."

"He's right." Archer said. He turned his head to Artoria. "Servants are usually only active at night. As per Mage law normal people aren't supposed to see these kinds of things. While we can't rely on that remaining the case we can at least bet on that happening for the time being."

Artoria turned her body to him. "So you're saying we should wait till night fall."

"And split into two teams. We can assume Blake is still the target but not the main objective. If she was they'd have sent more people after her." Archer said as he grabbed a pen and map of the school. "If she's willing we can use her as bait to try and draw her attacker out. Team one will consist of the four of us. Hopefully we can takeout Lancer and possibly learn who sent him." He started drawing a circle around the courtyard and dotting four different places. "Meanwhile the other five will form team two and will be stationed at strategic points throughout the school. This way should any other servants attack or Lancer go straight past us the other students will be safe and he can still be taken care of."

Artoria grabbed the map and looked at it. "A sound enough plan. Without any idea who the master is or what his goals are the safety of the public must take priority. However it'd be best to wait and run this plan by the head master before we enact it."

"Actually, I think I know who Lancers master is." Blake said as she stood up. "Remember Mountain Glenn, when I told you about Adam?" She asked.

"You think he's after you." Weiss said, finishing Blake's thought. "Would he really still be after you?" She asked, hoping to dispel Blake's fears. In the months since she'd learned of Blake's background she'd come to understand how she felt about it. Nothing but regret tinged with fear.

"I wanted to believe I was done with him. But I should have known he'd come after me." She sat back down and tears welled in her eyes. "He's obsessive. And dangerous. He hates humanity to the point of wanting to commit genocide. And as far as he's concerned, any Faunus who isn't with him needs to die as well." She wiped her eyes smudging her eye shadow. "When I joined him I wasn't much different, but I never wanted to go that far. I wanted liberty. I wanted to be free to choose my own path in life and I thought violence was the only way that would happen. The only way humanity would see that was at gun point. But Adam, he wanted to pull the trigger."

Everyone was silent. Not even her own team mates knew what to say. A minute passed and Kojiro stood up and took his sword off his back. He held it out to her so that the end of it touched her chest, putting the full length of the sword between them. "Master, I don't know who this Adam is, but I swear to you, the only time he'll get closer to you than the length of this sword is when I skewer him with it."

Yang jumped down off her bunk and sat next to Blake. She put her arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. "None of us will let him get to you. We will find him and we will stop him. For good."

Archer coughed, ending the moment. "Well now that we know that we have a little more to go off of. Tonight we'll look for evidence trying to connect Lancer to Adam, or at least the White Fang."

"Please don't tell Ozpin." Blake begged. I don't want anyone else finding out.

"Of course not." Artoria you told us, that's for you to decide who knows. If and when you tell him, it should be on your terms.

Ruby stood up and grabbed the map. "I'll go tell team JNPR. Archer, could you tell Sun and Neptune?"

Archer turned and nodded to Ruby. "As you wish."

Ruby left the room and walked across the hall. The door to their room was already open a bit so instead of knocking Ruby walked right in. While she didn't expect to see what she saw, it didn't surprise her either. Jaune stood in the middle of the room wearing a full Girls uniform as Pyrrha was doing his make up. Nora was off to the side going through other clothes on a bed as if trying to see if any of it would fit him. Surprisingly most of it looked like it would. "Oh come on." He whined as Ruby looked at him.

She quickly explained the plan to them and started running back to her room. "Oh wait a minute!" She yelled from across the hall. She went through her closet and rummaged a little before grabbing one of her corsets and going back to their room. "This will help by the ways. It's a bit small for you but it should still work. Have fun!" And with that she left them.

"What's going on over there?" Weiss asked as Ruby took a seat at the desk.

"Oh, Jaune is wearing one of the girls uniforms. Thought a corset would help." Ruby replied.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Finally! I was begging to think we'd graduate by the time he got around to doing it."

Yang was back on her bed. She gave a thumbs up and said "Yeah. Best part is I just won a bet with someone. Either ways I wonder how he'd look in one of Weiss's dresses?"

"I refuse to share my clothing with anyone." Weiss said abruptly, crossing her arms in protest.

"Geez, why so stingy?" Ruby asked as she spun around in her chair.

Weiss rolled her eyes as if the answer were obvious. "Because my socks cost more than your house."


	4. Chapter 4

Authors note: The new chapter of Fate/Grand Order came out this morning and so is a new chapter of FateRWBY! I also recently summoned Nero and Waver in FGO so I'm pretty excited to use them. Either ways I'm really excited to see what you guys think about this chapter regarding Jaune so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! Thank you!

P.S. Ok there were some issues in publishing this chapter. I honestly have no clue what happened. Let's try again.

Chapter four: plans and decisions

"Ozpin, this is difficult to believe." Ironwood said as he sat across from Ozpin. "Are you sure this is the case?" Ironwood folded his hands and rested his chin on them. Trying to think about the implications if this were to go public.

Ozpin adjusted his glasses. He was finding his patience running thin with his old friend. Ever since Ironwood had arrived at Beacon he'd done nothing but second guess his decisions, even going as far as to file reports with the Vale council that put his position at Beacon at risk. "For the time being we have little choice. Everything that's transpired lately is impossible to explain otherwise"

Ironwood sighed. "Very well. I'll discretely look through my troops and students and try to determine if any of the. Are potential masters. Meanwhile there was actually something I needed to talk to you about." Ironwood opened up a file on his scroll and handed it to Ozpin.

Ozpin read the file and handed it back to him. "I doubt this is a coincidence." Ozpin said. "We'll need to move rectify this immediately."

"I can have troops ready within the hour." Ironwood said.

Ozpin raised his hand. "Actually, I have another idea. I'll have Glynda forward you the details later. In the meantime I'll have to ask you to leave. It seems my students have something they want to tell me."

—

Ozpin sat at his desk as Weiss and Artoria explained the plan archer came up with. When they were done he sat there for minute deliberating. He understood the reasoning behind it. It would be the fastest way to gather information on the enemy, it could let them find out who the enemy was or gain Intel on how many servants they had. Ozpin sighed. "I can't approve this plan." He finally said.

"Why not?" Weiss said surprised.

Ozpin got up from his desk and walked to her. "Because you're still only students." He said firmly. "You and your teams have done impressive feats, even if they weren't technically official, but you're still only students, first years at that." Weiss was used to getting her way, it was part of the reason he hadn't made her the team leader, the best way to deal with it was to be stern. "Make no mistake Mrs. Schnee, this isn't a simple recon or Grimm clearing mission, this is a war. People will die, and I won't allow my students to be put in harms way unnecessarily."

Weiss opened her mouth to object but hesitated. "Yes sir. I understand." She said instead.

Ozpin put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Weiss. Once we have more Intel we can formulate a less risky plan. In the mean time you are more than welcome to stand guard at night. If they happen to attack then you must be ready to defend the school, but don't purposely try to invite them here." He said as he walked them to the door. Before they opened the door he stoped and turned to Artoria. "Mrs. Pendragon it's come to my attention that I didn't ask this earlier but will you and the other Servants require accommodations while here?"

Artoria stood next to Weiss wearing a full suit similar to that of a chauffeur. Her bun had been replaced instead with a simple pony tail. "Thank you but no. We Heroic Spirits don't require food or rest, nor do we get hot or cold. If we need to be out of the way can revert to our spirit forms." She told him. "However, I think it would help if you had me, Jean, and Astolfo become transfer students. It's possible we can learn something from mingling with the student body."

Ozpin nodded. "Very well. I'll speak with my associates and have that taken care of. Tomorrow you will begin attending classes as late transfers. Have a good day."

With that Artoria reverted to spiritual form and they left. "Well that didn't go as I'd expected." Weiss though, communicating with Artoria telepathically.

"I must say I actually agree with him." Artoria replied.

"What? But you supported the plan." Weiss said surprised.

"It was a strategically sound plan, but your head master is right. The risk level is too high for the pay off. It's all information that can be gathered in other, albeit slower, ways. As a leader he has to put the safety of those under him above all else." Artoria said to Weiss's dismay. "In the meantime we should do as he said, Archer and Kojiro will be best suited to stand guard tonight tonight as they both possess independent action. They can do their work while their masters sleep."

They left the Faculty office area and entered the Dormitories. "Why can't you do it?" Weiss asked.

"The Archer and Assassin classes possess the ability to travel an indefinite distance away from their masters, however most servants run into problems if they go to far as it disrupts the flow of energy between master and servant. Individual servants outside those classes may possess it to some degree but not always to the same extent. For example I could go just about anywhere in the school no problem where as other Saber class Servants may not be able to go more than a few yards away." Artoria explained to Weiss as they approached their dorm.

Before they went in Weiss asked one more question. "You were a Queen in life, right?" She asked.

"No." Artoria said. "At that time in my country women weren't allowed to assume the throne. And as I had two older half sisters there husbands had greater claim to the throne than I ever would. My fathers advisor, Merlin, had my adoptive father raise me as a man so that one day I could claim my fathers throne. I was a king in every way, even if the law wouldn't allow it"

"That's awful." Weiss replied.

"Not really, at the time my only concern was for my people. If pretending to be a man was what it took to serve them then so be it."

Artoria sounded so sure of what she said but Weiss thought there was more to it than that. Regardless she dropped the subject and entered the room to tell everyone the new plan.

—

"You seem oddly calm about this. I mean, I know you've done it before but still." Ren said, referring to the dance, as Nora handed Jaune a dress to try on.

"I grew up with seven older sisters. This happened a lot more than you'd think." Jaune said as Pyrrha tightened the strings on the corset Ruby handed them pushing all the air out of his lungs. "Jeez this is tighter than I thought."

"Beauty is pain!" Nora exclaimed as she pulled the dress over his head.

"You said the same thing about cooking Nora. I don't think you know what's supposed to be pain and not." Ren replied.

"Uagh." Fran grunted as she played with a notebook, flipping through the pages of it over and over again.

"That's not true Fran. There are plenty of ways to have fun without getting hurt." Ren said as Fran dropped the note book and started playing with the bed sheets.

"You can understand her?" Astolfo asked. "That's amazing!"

"It's easy. All you have to do is listen to her." Ren replied.

Pyrrha zipped the dress up and turned him around. "I didn't notice when you wore a dress to the dance but you have no body hair at all. You'd never have to shave."

"Yeah my sisters were always jealous of me for that. It's also part of the reason they'd have me wear their clothes well into high school. I never minded it much but eventually my dad started getting mad about it." He replied. "Also are we gonna spend the whole day doing this?" He asked.

"Probably." Pyrrha said giggling a bit. "This actually a lot of fun, and you pull it all off so well. What do you think Jean?"

Jean stood off to the side and held a skirt up to jeans waist. "I think my master is absolutely adorable." She said.

"Honestly I don't know why you'd wear men's clothes." Astolfo said. "You'd look so much cuter if you did something with your hair." Suddenly Astolfo jumped up and approached him. His face was only centimeters away from Jaunes and he looked like he was studying every angle of Jaune's head. "Hmm. Nora!" He yelled. "We should get him hair extensions!"

Nora's eyes grew wide as she grabbed Astolfo's arm. "There's a store at the mall that sells them. We'll be back in about thirty!" She yelled as she rushed out the room.

"I'd better go with them to keep them out of trouble." Ren said as he grabbed his guns. "Fran, spirit form please." He asked.

"Guah!" Fran cried, rolling around and getting wrapped in the blankets.

"We've been over this." He said as he got her out of them. "We can't have people seeing you yet."

"Ughh." Fran moaned as her corporeal form vanished into thin air.

"I'll see you guys when we get back." He said running out the door to catch up to the other two.

Pyrrha handed him the dress he wore at the dance a few weeks earlier as someone knocked at the door. "Come in." Jean said.

The door opened and Weiss stepped in. "Just came in to tell you Ozpin didn't approve the plan. Archer and Kojiro are going to stand guard tonight and alert us if anything happens but we can't do the other part. Also thought you might like these." She walked over and handed Pyrrha a pair of white, open toed high heels. "If they fit you can keep them, I bought them online and they were a tad too big for me."

"Why not?" Jeanne asked.

Weiss sat on the bed as Jaune put the shoes on. "He said it's too dangerous to do anything like that yet. He wants us to be ready if they come to us but not to go after them." Weiss looked over to Jaune. He had the shoes on and they fit, even if they were a bit tight. They made him several inches taller and really accentuated his legs. "You know if his hair was longer it'd really pull the whole thing together." She said.

Jaune was actually enjoying himself. Even if Nora more or less forced him into it it was fun, and everyone else seemed to be having a good time. Still he couldn't help but be nervous that so many people were seeing.

"Already working on it." Pyrrha said as she applied some eye shadow to him.

Pyrrha continued doing his makeup while Weiss looked up clothes for him, occasionally showing some to Pyrrha and Jean for their approval. When Jaune asked why he didn't get a say Weiss replied "You can't be trusted to make these decisions yet." As if this would be happening on a regular basis. Jean worked on his hair, straightening and tidying it up.

A few minutes passed and Ren, Nora, and Astolfo showed up with a few shopping bags.

"We decided to get a few styles!" Nora said as she pulled one out and nearly sprinted to Jaune. The extension was fairly basic in style but a perfect color match for his hair. She spun him around and clipped it in.

When she moved out of the way Weiss gasped. "Let me get the others." She said in a low and hurried voice as she got up and walked briskly across the hall. A moment later the rest of Team RWBY was over, minus their servants.

Yang put her hand over her mouth. "Damn, he's gorgeous."

"Knew the corset would help." Ruby said. She pulled out her scroll and took a picture. "The heels look great on him."

"You're welcome. Weiss said triumphantly. "Also just ordered all that stuff for you. Considered it one of the perks of having a rich friend." She said

"Did you do the make up your self or did someone else?" Blake said as she got a closer look at his face.

"Uhh, Pyrrha did it." He replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'd be happy to show you how to do it yourself." She offered.

Jaune hesitated but finally replied. "Maybe."

Ren looked around and coughed. "It's almost time for dinner. We should get going. Pyrrha you can help Jaune." And with that he ushered everyone out.

"I'll… wait outside." Jean said before disappearing.

Jaune sat on the bed and his head slumped. Pyrrha sat next to him and put her hand on his back. "How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"Not sure." He replied.

"You want me to show you how to do your make up, but your afraid. Why?" She asked

"You know how I told you how my sisters did stuff like this to me growing up?" He asked.

"You wanted it as much as they did." She said, finishing his thought. "But you were afraid of what others would think, and then your dad told you to stop, so you did."

"You say that like it's happened to you." Jaune said looking at Pyrrha.

She got up and walked to the window, looking out it longingly. "I've been in the public eye for years now. As a child everyone saw that I was prodigy in combat." She said as she sat on the window sill. "As I got older I aced all my combat classes and won tournament after tournament. No one could beat me. And eventually people decided I shouldn't be beaten. People have a way of… deciding how the world should be, and if you deviate from that it's simply incorrect." She said.

She walked over to him and pulled him off the bed placing her hands on his shoulders. "Yangs right. He is gorgeous ." She thought. "But I want you to know, what ever you decide, it won't change how I… how I think about you." She said as she walked over to the boy and girls school uniforms and picked them up. "Which ever one you choose, just make sure it's you choosing, not other people."

—

"You idiot!" Adam yelled as his fist flew into Diarmuid's face, forcing him to take a step back. If he wanted he could kill Adam with ease, but this was his master. And honor forbid him from doing so. "I gave you two orders and you somehow managed to mess that up?" Adam said.

"Master, an enemy servant had been summoned. I didn't think I could win so I retreated. The master was greatly injured though, I doubt she'll be much trouble next time." Diarmuid said.

"I'm not sending you next time." Adam said. "I'll send someone who'll actually do their job. In the meantime." Adam raised his right hand so the back of it faced Lancer and pulled off his glove. "By the power of this command seal, hurt." Suddenly Diarmuid fell to the ground as blood dripped out of his mouth. His back arched as he screamed in agony. "I'll let you know when you're done." And with that Adam left the room.

"Sir, would you like me to send Berserker after Blake?" Adams lieutenant asked as he waited by the door.

"Don't bother. That thing is impossible to control. We'll save him when we need to cause destruction. In the mean time, have Saber go to Beacon. He probably won't mess this up." Adam both hated and loved the idea of using humans. Hated it because they disgusted him, loved it because he could put them in their place. He was in control.

As Adam thought about this he heard screaming coming from down the hall. "OHHHHHHHHH!" The voice yelled. Adam and the lieutenant rushed to see caster standing over his crystal ball. "My beautiful holy virgin! Resurrected once more, saved from the grip of fire and brought once more to us!" Caster yelled as he threw his head up and flailed his arms.

"What the hell are you blabbing on about?" Adam yelled.

Caster turned to them, his bulbous eyes looking in two different directions. "Oh master of my master! Truly a miracle has blessed us! The Maiden of Orleans has been summoned!" Caster pointed to the crystal ball which showed a young girl with a long, blonde braid wearing the Beacon Academy school uniform. "I beg you, allow her and her master to be spared. The master need live only long enough for me to find out how to rid her of the bonds the lord has cruelty placed upon her!"

Adam almost told him to go to hell but didn't. "Sure." He said. "We'll do that." Caster smiled and went back to gawking at his crystal ball as Adam and the lieutenant left.

"We won't actually do that will we?" The lieutenant asked.

"For now yes. We need Caster to control Berserker and for his demons. So keep him happy. And out of my way. That guy is creepy." The lieutenant nodded and went off to tell Saber his mission leaving Adam with one thought. "Why can't all these servants be like Archer?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five: The One True Heir

Ruby picked up her tray and was about to go to the table with the rest of her team when she felt someone grab her shoulder. She turned her head around to see a familiar, bunny eared girl standing behind her. "Oh, hey Velvet." Ruby said as she turned around.

"Ruby?" Velvet replied, a look of surprise crossing her face. "How are you standing up already? You were in a wheel chair just this morning." Velvet began eyeing her midsection where just hours earlier she'd been impaled.

Ruby shuddered as she recalled the agonizing pain but quickly regained her composure so as not to alarm Velvet. "It wasn't as bad as it looked." Ruby said quickly, trying to end the conversation before Velvet asked the wrong questions. "They just needed to make sure I was ok before they let me walk. How're things with you?"

Velvet pulled out her camera and started scrolling through the pictures on it. Ruby smiled politely as she bore witness to dozens of pictures, none of which were properly centered. "Great!" Velvet replied. "I've been practicing my photography. Got a lot of shots in today." They talked as they went back to their tables with Velvet showing her more pictures. Suddenly Velvet stopped and looked over at Ruby's table. "Hey Ruby, who's that blonde girl at your table?"

Ruby looked up to see what she was referring too. Sitting between Nora and Pyrrha was none other than Jaune Arc. "Umm, that Jaune actually." Ruby said.

Velvet looked down at her camera and scrolled through the pictures. After a few seconds she stopped. "You know what I just realized, I don't have any pictures of him." Velvet said as she put away her camera. "I'll have to get some tomorrow. Anyways I have to head back to my team. Tell everyone I said hi!" She said, waving as she walked away.

"I actually wanted to ask you that." She thought, knowing Archer would hear her thoughts. "How am I able to walk so soon?"

"In life I was a Mage." He said. "I was able to temporarily reverse the flow of energy between us. Instead of taking Aura from you to sustain myself last night I sent Mana into you and your body used the excess energy to heal itself."

"Will you be ok?" Ruby asked, concerned that Archer had expended too much for her sake. Archer and Kojiro had already gone out and started watching over the school grounds to make sure no one attacked and the other servants wandered the school in spirit form as far as they could. The last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt because he didn't have enough energy.

"I was in spirit form while you were sleeping to conserve energy. As long as I don't get cut off from your aura any time soon I'll be fine." Satisfied with his answer he let him go back to work.

Ruby got to the table and took a seat next to Yang. She was about to start talking with her when she saw Sun and Neptune. For some reason they looked absolutely pained. Sun had his hands over his ears and had his eyes shut as if that would help drown out some noise only he could hear. Neptune, on the other hand, was merely banging his head on the table repeatedly. "And what's wrong with them exactly?" Ruby asked Yang.

"My servant won't stop drinking and reading comic books." Neptune said. "It hasn't even been a day and he's drunk five bottles of rum and read half the X-Ray and Vav Series. I just don't know where he's getting it from. " He sounded like he was desperate but had given up.

"And mine won't shut up about his stupid plays!" Sun yelled. "It's all forsooth this and verily that. It's driving me insane!"

"Who did you guys summon?" Jaune asked.

Neptune lifted his head back up to look at Jaune. "Some pirate named Blackbeard."

"Lucky you. My guy is some guy who wrote plays named Shakespeare. How does writing plays make you a hero!" Sun said as he threw his hands up in defeat.

Blake put the book she was reading down and looked at him. "That actually sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Getting to hear stories from another world." She said as she turned her attention to her plate of food.

"Pfft. Yeah for you maybe. Wanna trade? A samurai servant would be bad ass." Sun said. "Anyways how's it going with your servants?"

Ren finished his food and wiped his mouth. "Fran's getting restless cause she has to either stay in spirit form or stay in the room. I told her we'll go for a walk when it gets dark."

As they continued talking professor Goodwitch came up to the table. "Mrs. Nikos, Professor Ozpin wishes to speak with you."

Pyrrha slowly got up. "What for?" She asked.

Professor Goodwitch adjusted her glasses. "We just want to see how you're handling the... situation." She said. "No need to be worried."

"Oh, ok." Pyrrah replied. "I'll see you guys later." She said, waving to her friends.

She walked in silence with Glynda until they came to the Headmasters office. As they entered she saw Professor Ozpin sitting at his desk with Professor Ironwood standing next to him. "Hello Mrs. Nikos, please, take a seat." Ozpin said, waving to the seat on the other side of the desk.

Pyrrha took the seat as Professor Goodwitch walked over to Ironwood. "Hello professor. You wanted to speak with me?" She asked.

"Yes we wanted to talk to you about the recent events that have transpired." Ozpin said as he clasped his hands together. "How are you doing?" He asked.

Pyrrha looked down slightly. "I'm doing fine. It's just..."

"You're wondering why you weren't chosen as a master?" Ozpin asked, finishing her sentence.

Pyrrha made sure to sit straight. She didn't want to project how she was feeling too strongly. "I just want to be able help my friends." Pyrrha replied.

"I'm sure an opportunity will present itself eventually. You simply need to be patient. In the meantime I believe you can help us." Ozpin said as he pulled out his scroll.

Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise. "Excuse me professor?" She asked.

"I'm sure you recall that after the Grimm attack we captured the notorious criminal Roman Torchwick." Ozpin said.

"Of course." Pyrrha said. "I saw them take him in."

"Well unfortunately yesterday when guards went to his cell to bring him his meal they discovered he escaped." Ozpin paused for a brief moment, allowing the young girl to process the information. "As it stands we have no idea how he escaped in broad day light."

Shock crossed Pyrrha's face. "That's horrible. What are you gonna do about it?" She asked.

The corner of Ozpins lips raised into a subtle grin. "We aren't going to do anything. You, on the other hand, have a new mission." He said.

"Me?" Pyrrha asked. "Why would you send me?"

Ironwood stepped forward. "You're one of the best students here. Besides, if we sent a fully trained huntsman it might tip them off. You're one of the best but you're still a student, this gives you an element of anonymity. They won't see you coming."

Ozpin grabbed his scroll and began transferring documents to hers. "We identified a warehouse on the far side of the city. We've seen several men who work for a local night club owner coming in and out. Roman has been known to utilize these men in the past."

"You want me to apprehend him?" Pyrrha asked.

Ozpin chuckled. "That won't be necessary. Our intel indicates he's long gone, if he was there at all. We only want you to investigate. Find evidence that he was there if any exists and report back immediately." He said as he got up from the desk. "Hopefully there will be no need for fighting."

Professor Goodwitch stepped forward. "You are allowed to decline the mission of course. This may be a very dangerous and we won't force you to accept it." Professor Goodwitch said reassuringly.

Pyrrha didn't even bother to think about it. "Of course I'll accept it." She said, immediately jumping at the opportunity.

Ozpin walked to her and gestured toward the door. "Excellent. You'll leave tomorrow after classes. If new information comes up you'll be the first to know." He said. "In the meantime you'd best return to dinner. No one likes going to bed on an empty stomach."

Pyrrha stopped at the door. "Thank you Sir. I won't let you down." She said before leaving.

A minute passed before Ironwood broke the silence. "Why did you lie to her?" He asked. "You know damn well that Roman is still there with his henchman and will still probably be there tomorrow." He said, barely able to hide the anger in his voice.

Ozpin sat back at his desk and folded his hands. "Adaptability." He said simply. "The ability to change yourself in response to changes in your environment. It's our greatest advantage as a species. And our greatest advantage as warriors. If she is to be our new Fall Maiden she has to be able to do that."

Professor Goodwitch stood in the corner. "Sir with all due respect I can't help but agree with Ironwood. She's just a student, is this safe?"

"That depends on your definition of safe I suppose. But don't worry, I've taken precautions to make sure this plays out in a way favorable to everyone involved." Ozpin said, ending the discussion. Ironwood dropped the subject. But he wouldn't forget it.

—

Weiss surveyed her surroundings. She was in a large hall in what appeared to be some old, stone castle. She stood before a large circular table. On the other side of the table stood Artoria wearing a crown and cloak. Her back faced a younger girl who wore red and white armor and bore a startling resemblance to the king.

"You won't acknowledge me as your son, is that it king of knights?" The girl said as Artoria turned her back to her. "I was fine being your shadow. Yet not once did you turn to look at me." The girl began shaking, her face contorting as rage consumed her. "You, damn you! Everything, everything... I'll destroy it all!"

Before Weiss could see more of the scene she was shaken awake. "Weiss!" She heard Ruby yell as she opened her eyes. "Archer just told me enemy servants arrived!" Weiss bolted up right to see Artoria and Iskandar in full battle armor. Weiss jumped up and got dressed quickly. Yang and Blake were already getting dressed as she took her pajamas off.

In under a minute she was grabbing Myrtenaster and putting her hair piece in so her hair wouldn't get in the way. "Artoria, lets go." Weiss said as she and the team left their room.

Artoria and Iskandar went into spirit form and Artoria began communicating with them. "We will join Archer and Kojiro. Team JNPR will stay behind to guard these dorms while team SSSN will guard the transfer dorms." She said.

Ruby pulled crescent rose off her back and put a bullet in the chamber. "Archer said there's only one servant but he's crazy powerful. The four of us together should be enough though." She said as they left the building.

"This way!" Blake said as they veered off into the forest. Soon they could hear the sound of battle. Swords clashing, people yelling, even a few explosions. Once they arrived at the scene Weiss stoped. Fighting Kojiro and Archer was a knight wearing armor of Red and White. His identity concealed in a large, horned helmet.

Iskandar materialized and stepped forward. "This power…" He said as a grin crossed his face. "Master, we cannot allow him to reach the school. I ask permission to prevent that."

"How?" Yang asked as she activated Ember Celica.

"My Nobel Phantasm." As he spoke a blinding gold light began to emanate from his body. The light exploded from his body blinding them all and Iskandar yelled, the full weight of his legend dripping from his voice, the sound waves from his mouth penetrating their very being. "IONIOI HETAIROI!" As he yelled the light cleared allowing everyone to see that the forest was gone, replaced with a vast, unending desert. The fight before them stoped briefly as the three combatants stoped to take in their surroundings. Kojiro and Archer took the moment of distraction to retreat and take defensive positions around their masters.

"This is my Noble Phantasm. The embodiment of my legend, of my hopes, and of my philosophies. This world is as real as the one outside for it exists in my heart and the hearts of all who inhabit it!" He raised his arms in triumph and turned around as a massive army led by single, unmanned horse gathered behind him. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers marching in unison towards their king. "And together we shall once more see victory this day!"

The army yelled and cheered, beginning their advancement forward. Rider grabbed the horse and got on it. He proceeded to grab Yang, putting her on the saddle in front of him, and began his charge. Before he could gain speed Artoria stepped before him and stopped his advancement. A subtle look of his surprised crossed his face.

"Forgive my selfishness." She said. "But I must ask you and your army refrain from attacking." She turned to face the enemy. "This is my fight."

Iskandar smiled and raised his fist, stopping the armies advancement. "Very well. Men!" He shouted. "We shall let the King of knights have this battle!"

Artoria looked shocked by his words but smiled.. "Thank you." She whispered, turning to face the knight. "Mordred. Remove your helm." She demanded. Weiss looked over to archer to see his face uncharacteristically relaxed and his eyes widened as if in shock.

The knight lowered his sword. His helmet began to disappear as if it were mechanical, revealing the face of a young girl. She looked like Artoria in almost every way except with a different hair style. She stepped towards Artoria, tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword. "All hail King Arthur. The perfect, infallible King. Come to reject your own blood once more? To deny me my birthright yet again?!" She said, malice dripping from every word she spoke, yet Weiss couldn't help but note a hint of longing in her voice. What had Artoria done to this girl? "Or maybe you've come to say you forgive me? To laud your perfection over us mere mortals!"

Artoria dispelled the wind that concealed her sword revealing a golden blade with a beautiful blue hilt. She walked until she was face to face with Mordred. Everyone waited with baited breath. Archer stood perfectly still with an arrow knocked in his bow and Kojiro stood ready to join in should it be required.

The distance between them was negligible. If they tried they wouldn't even be able to swing their swords at each other. "I'm sorry." Artoria said to Mordred. Mordred's eyes widened, her body beginning to shiver. Artoria raised her hand and gently caressed the girls cheek. "You were my most loyal knight, and you were my child, yet I did nothing but shun you. And for that I beg your forgiveness."

Mordred's chest began puffing in and out as she clenched her teeth. "You shunned me. Denied what was owed to me at birth. You wouldn't even look at me and you have the audacity to ask for forgiveness?"

Weiss shielded her eyes as a wall of sand blasted them. When the dust cleared she looked between her fingers to see the two clashing swords, their blades being engulfed in crimson and gold auras. Weiss took a step back as she took in the battle. Mordred assailed Artoria with a relentless barrage of heavy strikes keeping Artoria on the defense. Artoria, meanwhile, kept her blade focused on defending her center. Mordred continued her assault forcing Artoria to give more ground.

"Watch closer." Archer said.

Weiss glanced at Archer. He must have figured what she was thinking. Weiss observed Artoria's movements more closely and slowly she began to focus on her foot work. The deliberate way she moved and placed her feet, controlling the flow of battle by forcing Mordred to fight where Artoria wanted her to. Forcing Mordred to fight in a way that she would never gain an advantage. Artoria was in the defense because she wanted to be.

"This... this is anger management for her." Weiss said, realizing what was happening.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked.

Iskandar stepped forward placing himself between Kojiro and Archer. His army watching in dead silence. "This isn't a fight between a King and a knight, or even a knight and a knight. This fight is a child desperate trying to prove them self to their parent and a parent trying to give that child the chance to do so."

Weiss looked at Mordred, her mind going back to that birthday all those years ago. "What could Artoria have done to earn this kind of animosity from her own child?"

—

Sun and Neptune ran through the dorms. Twisting and turning as they came to a series of offices. "This way right?" Sun asked as they took another turn.

"Yes! I sense the enemy this way!" Shakespeare said as they came to an office. Neptune opened the door and Sun burst in sweeping the room with his guns. Shakespeare materialized and pointed to the desk on the far side of the room. "There." Sitting on the desk was a woman in a dark purple tube dress with long, lilac colored hair.

There was a flash drive sticking out of the computer. She looked at the screen then materialized a rope dart made of chain. She got up and threw it at them but Blackbeard materialized and blocked it with his sword. "I'll be taking care of this one. You two, there's another one outside. Go deal with them." Sun nodded and ran towards the exit.

The woman pulled her dart back to her and swung it around. "Leave." She said. "You and I are on completely different levels. If you don't go now your master will die."

Blackbeard smiled and stepped forward. His breath stunk of Rum but he didn't seem inhibited by it in any way. He wore a white t-shirt with a comic book logo on it that was covered mostly by his beard. "See here's the thing. I don't think I actually have to stop you. Just break that computer before it's done." He pulled his gun and shot at the computer from his hip. The woman slammed the dart on the desk in front of the flash drive blocking the bullet at the last second. "Besides, if we fight there's a chance your dress will come off!"

Neptune turned his head to his servant absolutely mortified. The other servant took a step back with an uncomfortable look on her face. "I swear m'am, we aren't all like this. Just him." She lunged at him. He took a half step back but her dart still came dangerously close to his throat. He pointed his gun at her abdomen and fired knocking her back. "Who is she?" He asked.

Black beard jumped at her and brought his sword down on her. She blocked with her darts putting them in stale mate. "The youngest and most famous of the three gorgon sisters, Medusa." He said as she kicked them off. "She's right, we can't beat her, so break the computer!" Neptune aimed at the computer but was forced to jump to the side as her dart flew at him. He turned his gun into its trident form and rushed while Blackbeard aimed at the computer. As he brought his trident down on her she grabbed the shaft and ripped it from his hands. Before he could react it slammed into his abdomen sending him into his servant.

Neptune heard a ding come from the computer and Medusa casually walked over and pulled the flash drive from its port. She raised her dart once more to deliver the final blow to him. But instead of following through with it she lowered the dart and disappeared.

—

Sun and Shakespeare ran side by side through the halls. "All right, time to show me why you're a hero." Sun said.

"Very well!" Shakespeare said stopping in his tracks. He then proceeded to take out a book and quill and start writing.

"Dude what are you doing?" Sun asked as he skidded to a stop.

"Alas, I am no fighter." Shakespeare said in melancholy tone. "Merely a writer, one who records the deeds and actions of those braver and bolder than he!" He said, finishing what he was writing with a flourish of his quill. "One who records those such as your self."

"Wait what?" Sun could hardly believe it. Not only was his servant the most annoying but he was useless in a fight. Before Sun could say anything more he felt his body filling with energy. "Oh, that's what you mean." Sun said as his body was shrouded by a golden aura.

"I can not fight." Shakespeare said. "My only power comes from the ability to grant power to others. And combined with your natural abilities I see no reason why you couldn't defeat even the servant we face!" Sun turned around. The ground beneath his feat shattered as he burst forward with supernatural speed. He ran through the halls until he came to the door, slowing down enough that he didn't break the door. "I shall continue to support you from behind." Shakespeare said in Sun's head.

As soon as sun left the building he heard the fwip of a bow string being let go. Somehow he could tell that it was at least a hundred yards away. He reached for his bo staff and blocked several incoming arrows, each traveling at speeds no normal bow should be able to produce. "Damn this is awesome!" Sun thought as he sped towards the outlying forest. He jumped onto a tree and began jumping from branch to branch. More arrows came at him. He separated his staff into nunchucks and knocked them out of the way.

Eventually he came to the source of the projectiles, a woman in a greenish blue dress with lion ears and a tail. "A Faunus?" Sun thought as the Archer began to run away. She twisted in mid air firing three arrows at him, sticking the landing perfectly as she continued to run. Sun jumped to the left to dodge them. As he did one of them changed course mid air and struck him in the chest. It splintered on his chest allowing him to shoot the other two out of the air. A wave of yellow passed over him from head to toe as he expended the last of his aura."Shit. If caster hadn't done his… whatever, that'd have gone right through me." He thought. He made one last jump with all the strength he had and tackled the archer to the forest floor.

They fell through the air as she beat his face with immense strength trying to get free of his grasp. They hit the ground, her back taking the majority of the impact. She kicked him off and he back flipped on to his feet. Blood dripped from his nose and fell to the ground below them. She got to her feet and knocked her bow but hesitated to fire. "Are you the Monkey King of Chinese legend?" She asked.

Sun put his nunchucks together to make his staff. "No clue what any of that is." He said. He swung his staff into an offensive position. "My names Sun Wukong."

"I see." She said firing her arrow. Sun blocked it and jumped at her. She blocked him with her bow and proceeded to push him away, trying to put distance between them. "The way you fight I mistook you for a servant. The work of your caster I presume?" She asked firing a volley of arrows at him.

"Yeah. His name is Noneya Business." He yelled as he tried to axe kick her in the head. As he brought his heel down on her he felt his leg jerk down faster then he intended. He face planted into the ground, hitting his forehead on a rock and dropping his staff. He rolled over to see the servant from earlier standing before him. His head began pounding and his vision blurred. His ears began ringing incessantly as he began to fade in and out.

"We've been ordered to return." She said as her physical form dissipated. The archer followed suit leaving him alone to lose consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Judge and the Arbiter

Sun blinked as he awoke, adjusting his eyes to the rays of the late afternoon sun that shone through the window of the infirmary. "Did anyone catch the license plate of the chick that steam rolled me?" He asked as he got out of his bed.

Blake sat at his bed side and threw a bottle at him. "Sorry but no dice. We know the one Neptune fought was another Rider named Medusa. Shakespeare couldn't identify the Faunus you fought, only that she's probably an archer."

Sun sat up and looked at the bottle. It looked like some kind of rusty red hair dye. "Are Neptune and Blackbeard all right?" He asked. If Medusa had managed to get past the two of them then the worst case scenario was very much possible.

"They're back at your dorm. Blackbeard took some good hits but he'll be fine. Neptune got out without a scratch." Blake said reassuring Sun. "Apparently after she finished transferring whatever she was after Medusa bolted."

"Ok, And the heck is this for?" Sun asked throwing the bottle back to her.

Blake helped him up and gave him the bottle again. "You've been out since early this morning. Friday classes will be over in 15 minutes." She said as she began going through the bag she had with her. "Meaning we have to get ready.

"Ready for what?" He asked.

"We don't know what they stole, only who stole it. And we know what they do every week on Friday." She said as Sun realized what the hair dye was for.

"You wanna disguise ourselves and infiltrate another meeting?" Sun said, remembering the last time they got into a White Fang recruitment meeting. "It could work for me since no one there would know what I look like. But I'm sure a lot of them would recognize you even with hair dye."

Blake smiled and pulled out a pair of scissors. "Already got that covered."

An hour and a half later they were in Blake's dorm ready to go. "It's gonna take forever for your hair to grow out again you know that right?" Yang said as she finished cleaning the scissors she used to cut Blake's hair.

Blake looked at her now short, red hair in the mirror. She now sported a short pixie cut that barely went past the top of her neck. The dye seemed to be done setting making her hair and cat ears a dark, rusty red. "I'm sure I'll manage." She said. "Either ways we just need to figure out where the meeting is tonight and we're good to go. You figure that out yet Assassin?"

Assassin materialized next Blake holding a scrap of paper. "It was surprisingly difficult but I figured it out. There's an abandoned building on the outskirts of town that seems to be where they're having it this week. I wrote the location down here."

Blake took the paper and looked at it. "I know this place actually. We used it to store supplies because no one ever went there. Honestly we were afraid it might collapse one day." She said grabbing her new weapons, twin katanas infused with fire dust. She also got a pair of gloves woven with lightning dust to be safe. Blake had been afraid they'd be identified by their weapons so she procured a temporary one. Sun had found a different solution.

"It would make an ideal location to avoid the law. Though I doubt the fire chief would approve of so many people in such a relatively small space." Assassin said. "We need to be careful if it comes to a fight unless we want the building to win."

"You go ahead of us and scout the place out in spirit form to get an idea of their numbers while Shakespeare holds the rear to provide support. Try to find out anything about last night while you're at it. She turned to Sun as Assassin bowed and disappeared. "Sun what's taking you so long?" She asked. "I'm ready to go."

Sun was on the other side of the room struggling to apply the last bit of dye to his tail. "Here's an idea, help me with this so I don't dislocate my shoulder doing this."

Blake walked over and took the bottle from him. "I thought girls were supposed to take too long getting ready for dates." She said as she finished dying his tail."

"Oh so it's a date now?" He said.

"We'll see where the night takes us." She said winking.

Yang made a bleh sound. "Look this is my room too. Can you not make me feel like a third wheel? I'm not sure where else to go if things get too weird."

"Sorry we'll get out of your hair." Blake said.

Yang looked at the floor and grabbed a broom. "Meanwhile I'll get out of yours. Rider and I also have plans tonight but if you need help send a message and we'll be there ASAP. Ruby plans to train with Archer tonight so she may not be able to help."

"What about Weiss?" Sun asked.

"Pfft, to hell if I know. Last I heard she wasn't talking to Saber for whatever reason." Yang replied as she threw Blake's cut hair away.

Blake looked concerned but let the subject go. "All right. I'll let you know if we need help Immediately. But same for you, anything goes sideways you give us a call." And with that they left for the meeting.

—

Jaune sat his desk trying to stay awake. Pyrrha had gotten him up two hours earlier than usual to get ready. "How do girls do this every day?" He thought. Pyrrha kicked his leg under the table as his head started to slump. He jerked back awake. "Thanks." He whispered to Pyrrha.

"You'll get used to it." She said smiling. "Good choice on the make up by the ways."

"Yeah well you're the one who put it on." He replied, but his head was only half in that conversation. The other half was in the row in front of them. Jeanne, Artoria, Shakespeare, and Astolfo had all officially become students at beacon as late transfers with Shakespeare altering his appearance to look like a teenager. Jaune wasn't sure what they were planning to accomplish. Maybe if they did this it'd give them more freedom to move about this school in physical form. That was the only thing he could figure anyways.

The bell rang releasing everyone from class. Jaune and his team got up to leave when They heard some Atlas students laughing and whispering. "That guy is wearing a fucking skirt!" One of them said.

"If that's the level of competition maybe we should just send half our team." Another said.

Jaune turned to address them only to see the most surprising thing he'd seen over the past few days. Cardin Winchester grabbed one of them by the shoulder, turned them around, and pointed to Jaune. "He killed an Ursa in one swing. You better hope you get kicked out of the bracket before you have to fight him or his team." With that Cardin pushed past all of them and left the class.

The Atlas students were almost as stunned as JNPR was. "Well at least things can't get any crazier now." Nora said.

"Did you and Cardin make up or something?" Ren asked.

"I... honestly don't know." Jaune replied. "Last I spoke with him I sort of threatened him."

"Well it seemed to do its job." Pyrrha said. "Weren't you and Jeanne going to hang out with Coco and Velvet today?"

"Oh yeah." Jaune replied. "She wanted to go shopping. Said she found an outfit I'd like. You're still ok with that right? He asked Jeanne.

Jeanne nodded. "I doubt anyone will try anything in a public setting with heavy traffic. We should get going though so as not to keep them waiting."

Jaune nodded. "Anything happens you call us." He said waving good bye. Jaune and Jeanne stopped by the room so they could change. Soon enough they were in town in front of the store they were supposed to meet Velvet and Coco at.

Velvet waved from in front of the store. "Hey guys!" She said. "Glad you guys made it."

Coco came up to him and grabbed his arm. "Come on you have to see this." She said as she pulled him into the store. "So Jeanne, how do you know Jaune?" She asked.

"We're cousins, actually." Jeanne said smiling. "I couldn't attend school last semester because of some training injuries." She said as they walked between clothes racks.

"Geez, those must have been some serious injuries. Glad you're ok." Velvet said.

Coco handed some clothes to Jaune to try on. After a few minutes Jaune came out to show them. He wore a black sleeveless shirt with a low cut back and white ribbons on the side with blue leather pants. "I like the top but the pants are a bit... tight." He said kicking the toes of his black heels so that they fit better. He turned around to look at himself in the mirror. "Have to admit I do like them though."

"If I'd known you were into fashion I'd have asked to hang out sooner." Coco said. "And I think the pants look great. Maybe find a lighter shade of blue though."

Velvet came over and put two gold bracelets on him bringing the look together. "It honestly didn't surprise anyone. After the dance everyone agreed you looked better in a dress anyways." She then grabbed his sword and shield and held it at his side to see how it would look hanging from his waist.

"Wait am I supposed to be insulted or is that a compliment?" Jaune asked. "And there's no way I looked as good as Pyrrha."

"Oh yeah, hold yourself to the same standards as your supermodel girlfriend. That's totally fair." Coco said, making Jaune blush and stutter.

"Th... that's not how it is at all!" He said. "We're just friends. Besides, she can do way better than me."

Coco looked over her sunglasses and smirked. "Maybe, but not for long."

Jeanne and Velvet went off to look at clothes and talk leaving Jaune and Coco alone. "Eh, what do you mean?"

Coco grabbed a skirt and held it to her waist to see how it'd look on her. "You know you're a lot like me actually. You aren't smart, you aren't strong, and frankly you're not a very good leader." She said.

"Umm, Coco, you're all of those things." Jaune replied. "You constantly get the best grades in your class, you kicked ass when the Grimm invaded, and your team always succeeds. Oh, and you're one of the most fashionable people is school cause you know, Miss. Perfect and everything." He said as he picked up a dress to look at.

Coco laughed. "No, I'm not. I became all those things because I had too. Except that fashionable part you're right about that." Before she could continue the mirror shattered. The other customers dropped to the floor as a spray of bullets destroyed the whole front of the store. "Hit the deck!" Coco yelled as Jaune jumped in front of her, shield deployed.

Jeanne and Velvet dashed from behind some racks to join them. Jeanne peeked from behind the shield to see who was doing the shooting. Outside the store was a large group of people wearing the same black hooded uniform with white masks."It's the White Fang!" She yelled as she summoned her lance.

Jaune stood up and rushed forward taking the brunt of the assault giving the others a chance to get out of the building. "This place literally just reopened!" Coco yelled as she started beating the White Fang members with her handbag.

Jaune jumped through the broken window and started fighting. The scene before him was a nightmare. The White Fang had attacked civilian targets before sure, but usually just supply chains like air ships and rail cars. Never a downtown shopping district full of small businesses. And a force this big? He counted twenty at least. Probably more he couldn't see. Before he realized it he was already surrounded by three White Fang soldiers.

Jaune readied his sword and shield to fight back when he heard a familiar voice yell from behind him. "Duck!" Jaune did as the voice commanded as dropped to one knee while putting his shield over his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the head of a mace fly over him taking all three out in one fiery swing.

"Thanks Cardin." Jaune said as he got back up.

"No problem. Velvet and your cousin are evacuating the shoppers. Coco wanted the three of us the regroup." Cardin turned around and smashed another White Fang soldier in the face.

Jaune started towards Cocos position. "Let's not keep her waiting." The two of them made there way to her making sure to take out as many White Fang soldiers as they could. When they finally reached her she was surrounded but holding her own as well as anybody. Jaune and Cardin rushed into assist her.

"Bout time!" She yelled. "Velvet and Jeanne are almost done. We have to hold until Atlas troops arrive!" Her purse began transforming into a mini gun and she blew her assailants away. Jaune and Cardin guarded her rear until a few minutes later Atleasian Sentries started raining from the sky. With that the White Fang began retreating.

"Jaune!" Jaune turned around to see Jeanne and velvet running towards them. Jeanne ran up to him and leaned in closely whispering two words. "Enemy servant."

Jaune immediately turned towards the others. "You all good here?" He asked.

"I think we'll manage." Cardin said. "You late for som.. hey!" He yelled as Jaune and Jeanne began running away.

She was in full armor now, ready to fight which ever servant they were about to face. "This way." She said as she turned down an alley. At the end of it was a man with slicked back black hair and a brown vest over a white shirt. In his hand held a pipe and in his shirt pocket was what appeared to be a magnifying glass. Jeanne stepped forward her lance at the ready. "I am Jeanne d'Arc, heroic spirit of the Ruler class. State your name and class servant."

The man pulled out a match and lit his pipe. After taking a puff of it he finally answered. "I am Sherlock Holmes. Also of the Ruler class."

Jeanne lowered her spear And took a step back. "How..." she began to say but cut herself off mid sentence.

"Yes, I'm afraid you know as well as I that the rules regarding the Holy Grail war no long apply." He said taking a step forward. "Our roles in this war prove that as much as anything."

Jaune looked at his servant. "Jeanne what does he mean?" He asked her. They had three Riders on their side so obviously multiple servants of the same class could be summoned.

Sherlock took another puff of his pipe. "Haven't told him yet I see. My apologies, would you like to explain to him or shall I?"

Jeanne took a step forward. "Jaune when you summoned me remember what I said?"

Jaune thought for a second. "You said your name and class and that I was your master but you looked kind of confused."

"The Ruler class is a special class, one few servants qualify for. We have no desire for the Grail or it's power therefore in times when the Grails authority is at stake it will summon a servant of its own to act as a judge on its behalf." Jean said, leveling her spear at Sherlock.

Sherlock approached them up phased by Jeanne's sign of aggression. "But despite that everything about our class has been stripped from us. We are Rulers yet we serve a master. We lack command seals therefore lack authority over other servants. We are to be arbiters of game where we know not the rules. Does this not bother you?" He asked with the utmost sincerity.

Jeanne lowered her spear. "I haven't been so bothered since foreign troops marched on French soil." She replied. "But why are you here?" She asked.

"I intend to fulfill the duties of our class to the best of my abilities despite these limitations. And to that end I've come to tell you what I know." He replied.

Jaune put his sword away. If this guy wanted to give him answers no point in turning him away. "What are the White Fang planning? What was the point of this attack?" Jaune said pointing back to where the attack was happening.

"A simple terror attack." Sherlock said a little disappointed. "An attack meant to sew fear and chaos amongst civilians. No more, no less."

Jaune looked back in the direction of the attack, his face twisting in disbelief. "No, that can't be it. They wouldn't do that. They wouldn't commit the resources to something like that unless they had some kind of goal or... or objective. Something, anything!" His breathing became heavier as he tried to make sense of the events that had transpired. Sherlock had to be wrong, or even lying. There had to be a reason behind all this.

"Jaune." Jeanne grabbed his shoulder, as if physical contact would comfort him. It worked, to an extent. "Sometimes, when people let anger and hate consume and twist their hearts, they do bad things that don't necessarily make sense." She said, sorrow punctuating each and every word. "They want only to spread that anger and hate as much as possible."

"Dangerous is the man who believes his actions justified by injustice." Sherlock interjected.

Jaune regained his composure and looked at Sherlock. "Why do they want the Grail?" He asked.

Sherlock scowled. "Unfortunately I can not say. Our Caster is somehow able to block my Noble Phantasm forcing me to figure that out the old fashioned way, as it were. What I can say is whatever their end goal they are still in the early stages of their plan. Even if they managed to defeat all enemy servants the nature of this world makes procuring a proper vessel for the ritual difficult."

Jaune looked to Jeanne. "What does he mean?"

Jeanne thought for a moment. "To summon the greater grail a vessel is needed. Someone possessing an extraordinary amount of magical circuits. To that end Homonculus, artificial humans bred to have abnormally high counts of Magic Circuits, are normally used." She said.

"But magic isn't real here." Jaune replied. "Maybe someone with enough aura would work?"

Sherlock stroked his chin. "Hmm. Perhaps that's the case. Aura is what is sustaining us in this world and it seems to be doing so the sufficient effect. I'll continue my research..." He stoped abruptly in mid sentence as a look of pain crossed his face. "My master summons me but know this, though I intend to maintain the natural order as best I can I am still subservient to my master and, by extension, her master. Next we meet it may be on the battle field." He said, disappearing with a shimmer.

Jeanne changed back into her street clothes. "A shame. I'd hoped to find out who this Caster is." She said. "If he's able to subvert the Noble Phantasm of Sherlock Holmes, a Ruler class servant, he may well be a very dangerous opponent."

Jaune put his shield and sword on his hip when he felt a plastic tag on his pants. "Oh shit. I'm still wearing the stores clothes."

They made there way back to the store. Everywhere Jaune looked there was despair. Not a single store was left untouched. Some where engulfed in flames, people livelihoods destroyed. What some had spent lifetimes creating gone in mere minutes. People laid on the ground. Some crying as they tried desperately to hold their blood in as EMT's transferred them to medical facilities. Others condemned by hate to never move again. Sirens wailed through the air, some getting closer some getting farther. Jaune brushed a corpse with his foot as a phone began ringing in it's pocket. Probably a friend or loved one trying desperately to make contact. Jaune rubbed his eyes, the smoke was making it hard to see. Cardin and Coco were speaking with authorities, Jaune realized they'd want to speak with him as well probably. "All this, for nothing?" Jaune said. Jeanne stopped for a moment. She put her hands together, closed her eyes, and bowed her head. "What are you doing?" Jaune asked.

"Praying these people find deliverance." Jeanne replied. Jaune wanted to shout to the sky. He knew Jeanne was a saint in her world. What kind and loving God would allow an atrocity like this to happen? But he didn't. He knew that would be naive. That it would be too easy. That it wouldn't be true. No God made this happen. People did. Society didn't force the White Fang to do as they did they chose to do this. They chose to attack unarmed civilians who were simply trying to go about their business as if lambs at a slaughter. Society may have helped create the hatred that prompted this but they chose to give into it.

They arrived at the store. The owner of the place, a young bear Faunus women, sat in shattered glass and torn clothes weeping. She'd only reopened after the Grimm attack a few weeks ago after months of uncertainty. Now she'd have to go through it all over again. She looked at Jaune and got up to find somewhere more private to vent her frustrations. "Just keep the clothes."


	7. Chapter 7

Authors Notes: Since it's been a while decided I'd upload twice this week. Also I just want to say I love it when you guys leave comments and reviews. I don't get paid for this (it's fanfiction, not like a lot of people wanna pay for this) so reading what you guys thought is the second best thing. A very, very distant second to getting paid, but still incredibly enjoyable. The longer and more thought out the better so please take a few minutes to tell me what y'all think, I really appreciate it. Thank you and enjoy!

Chapter 7: Investigations

Artoria sat at the computer trying to figure what Medusa had taken from it. The files on the computer all seemed to be basic administrative paper work. Student records, supply documents, the kind of stuff you'd find on any computer at any school. Nothing worth launching a small assault on the school over. Archer materialized next to the desk. "How goes the search?" He asked looking over her shoulder.

"Shakespeare and Astolfo are going over the paper documents in the next room over looking for clues." She replied. "I can't figure out what was on this computer that was so important to them." She said closing the current program to go onto the next.

Archer put his hand on the computer and closed his eyes. Blue green lines similar to electrical circuits traced the computer. "Well a reverse mana trace shows nothing." He said. "They didn't use Magecraft to do this."

"They used a flash drive. Hardly the height of magic." She replied. Archer shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave. Before he could take a step Artoria grabbed his hand. "Archer... do you remember that Holy Grail War. When you were my master?" Archer looked at her, his silence revealing everything. "I do to. I remember both the Wars where I fought with you as your servant and against you as an enemy servant. Remember my final words to you? Those four words I said after destroying the Grail? After you saved Iliya?"

Archer ripped his hand from hers and left. "I'm not that man anymore. I haven't been for a very long time." He said as he disappeared.

Artoria looked at the spot where he'd stood for a moment then went back to her work, holding the tears back in her eyes. "Shirou, I love you."

—

Blake and Sun left the room just as Iskandar manifested. "Have they arrived?" He asked, using what passed for his indoor voice. "I can't stand being trapped in this tiny room any longer!"

Yang was pushed aside by his giant thighs. "Has what arrived? And nothings keeping you here." She replied.

"A retainer of mine once said if I wanted to pass in the modern world I required leggings. Does that not stand here as well?" Iskandar asked.

Yang moved to where she had more room. "Well people here wear weird stuff when they're huntsman but yeah, your get up may be a little weird even by those standards." She said, once again analyzing his ancient looking bronze armor and flowing red cape.

"As I thought." He said. "As such I took the liberty of ordering some clothes that would allow me to mingle amongst the commoners of this kingdom."

"Wait, with what money?" Yang asked.

"With yours of course. A master must provide for his servants." Iskandar looked at Yang's face seeing her annoyance turn to anger. "Don't worry, I fully intend to pay you back a thousand times over once I conquer this world." He said.

Yang was about to say something but decided to let it go. "Fine. I guess as long as it's for the war I can't complain. But could you try asking next time?"

"Very well." He said. "No when can I expect it? I went with the express shipping."

"It's probably here already, It'd have been sent to the mail room. Stay here while I go get it." Yang was already in the door way when she looked back and said "And no conquering."

Iskandar waited patiently and a few minutes later Yang was back with a package containing an XXX-L shirt and jeans. Yang turned and waited for him to finish changing. When he was done she looked. He no longer wore his bronze armor but instead wore a plain white cotton t shirt tucked into his pants. Instead of the pleated metal skirt he wore an average black belt that matched his black shoes. Despite looking like every working man in the kingdom the way he held himself was still that of the King of Conquerers. "Now, let us go forth unto glory!" He said, strutting out of the dorms.

Yang had to jog just to keep up with him. "Anything you wanna do specifically?" She asked. "I was hoping we could patrol tonight to make sure the White Fang isn't up to anything."

"My thoughts exactly." Iskandar said, ignoring the stares and whispers from all the students. Some students were wondering if there was a body building contest being held at the school. "But first I wish to partake in the local culture!" He said. "I suggest starting with the local cuisine and drink."

Iskandar marched into town with no sign of slowing down. Eventually Yang got used to his pace and was able to keep up with just a brisk walk. Iskandar abruptly stopped and looked into the window of a game store. "I want to check out this store." He said walking in before Yang could say anything.

The guy at the counter looked at Iskandar with his mouth gaping open. "Um, do you need help finding something Sir?" He asked.

Iskandar looked across the shelves. "No I didn't think they'd have that one here." He muttered to himself. "Merchant, do you have any strategy games?"

The cashier perked up a bit. "We have a few actually. What kind you looking? Just something for casual play or something a bit harder?"

"I require a game that can test the skill of even the King of Conquerors!" He said beating his chest with his fist.

"Then I think you'll like this one." The cashier said as if that sentence was perfectly normal.

Iskandar took the game from the cashier, looked at the back, and smiled. "Master, do we possess this console?"

Yang looked at it and nodded. "I assume you want it?" She said pulling out Lien to pay for it.

They left that store and went to a number of other store and restaurants. Iskandar was especially interested in the Atlas section of the book store. Yang never realized anyone could be so interested in maps. "The geography of this world is truly amazing." He said. "I'll require a vast Navy if I'm to have any hopes of victory. And these Grimm will certainly pose a problem to my Army."

It was there Yang felt her Scroll vibrate. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Ruby. She answered it. "Sup sis?"

"Oh thank God you're ok." She said panicking. "Did you see the news?"

"What news?" Yang said now concerned.

"The White Fang attacked the shopping district Jaune and Jeanne went to. They're ok but a lot of people were hurt and... most didn't make it. The attack was only a few minutes long but there were so many there and they did a lot of damage. And by the time I found out about it was too late for me and Archer to do anything."

Yang quickly pulled up the news on her scroll and was aghast by what she saw. At least thirty dead with dozens more in critical condition. Half the shops were burnt to the ground with no hope for repair. She looked at the images and saw a picture with Jaune, Coco, and Cardin in it. Apparently they'd been there from the beginning and helped fight back the White Fang. At least she knew they were ok. "Ruby when Jaune gets back it may be a good idea to give him some space. Let Pyrrha handle things."

"I was thinking the same thing. I'll talk to you when you get back." And with that Ruby hung up.

Yang looked at her phone. For all her strength she couldn't do anything if she wasn't there. Iskandar grabbed her shoulder. "Come, let's grab some food."

A few hours later the sun had set and Yang and Iskandar sat a top a tall building. "Why would they call it an all you can eat buffet if they don't intend for people to have their fill?" He yelled. "It's false advertising!"

"I'm with you on this one that was some bull crap. I was only on my fourth plate!" She said. Despite all that happened Yang had surprisingly enjoyed herself. Something about Iskandar's personality and bearing was inspiring. She felt hyped just from being around him. Felt inspired to go above and beyond in everything she did. She thought back to the dream she'd had of his massive army. Now she knew why all those people would follow him to an endless ocean."Hey Rider, earlier when you said you were gonna conquer this world, were you serious?"

Iskandar looked out to the city. To the millions of lights that illuminated it's streets and buildings. To the countless people bustling about their business as if today was no different than any other. Yang sensed it was a scene he'd seen more times then he could count. "It is as I said. I'm the King of Conquerors. If there's a horizon I must conquer everything within its boundaries and beyond. It's simply my nature." He said, stretching his arm out as far as he could, going as far as to stretch even his fingers to their furthest point. "To constantly ride towards that one, unobtainable glory."

Yang stood up and stretched. "And that's why you want the Grail?" She asked. "To conquer everything there is to conquer."

Iskandar smiled. "It'd be meaningless if I had a cup do it for me." He replied. "True reincarnation, that's all I want. A body of flesh and blood with which I can begin my conquest once more."

Yang started laughing. She couldn't explain it but for some reason everything he said made perfect sense to her. "Good luck with that. You're gonna need it." She told him.

"Oh?" Iskandar replied. "Is there some obstacle that will stand in my way."

Yang pointed her thumb to her chest. "As long as this heart keeps pumping I will never let you have this world." She said.

Iskandar stood up and smiled. "Very well!" He said with his booming voice. "Anyone worthy of being my master must also be worthy of being my rival, I pray you prove to be a greater opponent than Darius himself!" He turned and faced the city, his clothes reverting back to his armor. "Now come, battle awaits!"

"An enemy servant?" Yang asked as she stood by his side. "Well lets get going!" She said as she took a running jump off the building. She free fell through the air for a minute before Iskandar grabbed her and placed her beside him on the Gordious Wheel. "Any idea what we can expect." She yelled over the crackle of lightning that followed in their wake.

"Not at all!" He yelled back. "The mystery of the unknown is part of what makes battle so exciting!" They flew through the sky for a few minutes before coming to an obscure part of the docks. No one was there this late at night and all the shipping containers, some stacked as many as five high, made for the perfect place to hold a secret battle.

The chariot landed and Yang jumped out. The scene before her should have made her realize this night would haunt her nightmares for years to come, but she was too surprised to think about anything like that. Between the containers was a man in dark blue robes with bulbous, chameleon like eyes surrounded by dozens of children all petrified with fear. Tears streaming down their faces but none of them uttering a single sound. Before Yang could take a step Iskandar jumped out of the chariot and blocked her path with his sword. "Caster." He said in an uncharacteristically low voice. Yang looked at Caster and took a step back. Who could this person be to make even Iskandar feel this uncomfortable?

"You aren't the Holy Virgin." Caster said, his voice cracking with fury, his hands clenching into fists as him arms shook.

Iskandar stepped forth. "Let these children go Caster. They don't need to be involved with this." His voice was commanding but calculated. His movements designed so as to not set the obviously insane Caster off.

Unfortunately it seemed nothing could do that. "YOU ARE NOT JEANNE!" He yelled dropping to his knees. His fists began smashing the concrete into dust as he wailed into the night sky. His cries seemed to pierce the air and reverberate through everything. Yang deployed her gauntlets to prepare to fight this unknown enemy.

Before Iskandar could do anything caster waved a hand and all the kids began twitching. Yang watched on in terror as there heads and abdomens began to split, allowing multiple tentacled creatures to erupt from them in a bloody rain. She'd never be able to explain what she thought at that moment, only what she felt. Her body moved by itself, jumping from behind Iskandar's sword in a fury of flames. Her screams piercing the night sky just as Casters did, punctuated only by her tears and the sound of gun fire. Iskandar tried to strike down Caster but was too late. Caster dissolved into a shimmer away from the battle. "Next time bring Jeanne d'Arc with you." He said as he faded.

Yang fired away furiously. Beating each of the monsters to death with her fists and a spray of buck shot. Part of her wanted to believe if she could just kill the monsters then maybe some of the kids could be saved. Even if just one then maybe she could be saved as well. It was ridiculous to think that after what she saw. But she had to believe that, if only for herself.

Eventually rider grabbed her arm to get her to stop and Yang realized she'd already killed all of them and had been firing at the same one for several minutes. She looked at Iskandar, her red eyes fading to violet and her strength leaving her. "Why?" She asked as she began sobbing, crumpling to a ball on the ground. "Why did he do this?"

—

Pyrrha scouted the warehouse out. It was hardly abandoned like Ozpin had said it would be. "They're not being very subtle. Ozpin knew it'd be like this." She thought as she began thinking of other entry methods. The building was about three levels high with guards stationed by each of the entrances so going in the front door was out of the question. Pyrrha looked around for an alternate means of entry. She noticed near the top of the warehouse was an open window that looked just big enough for her to squeeze through. That'd probably be her best option. She got beneath the window while maneuvering around any guards she came across. Luckily it seemed Roman was operating on a skeleton crew. Enough people to stand guard but that was about it.

She looked around for a way up and saw some crates. Using her semblance she manipulated the nails in them to move the crates quietly to a shipping container. After climbing to the top of the container she looked around. After determining the coast was clear she got a running start. Using her semblance she pushed herself off the container and reached the window. She held on with the tips of her fingers and pulled herself up and in as quietly as possible. There were no guards she could see so she crouched and moved about to find the evidence she needed. If she could get to the right place she might be able to get a good picture of everything that was going on.

"Come on people, we don't have all day! I'd like to get out of here before Adam decides to start his little revolution." Pyrrha looked at the far end of the warehouse. One level below her Roman stood on a cat walk in front of the name of the warehouse printed in large black letters along the wall watching as his henchman loaded everything in the warehouse onto trucks. Pyrrha looked around and saw the perfect vantage point to get a picture. A large beam going from wall to wall that stretched across the width of the warehouse.

Pyrrha moved to get on top of it. Along the way she came across a guard armed with gun. Pyrrha knew if he fired it everyone would be alerted to her presence. Reaching out with her magnetic fields she felt around the gun for the firing pin inside and bent it. She then quietly walked up behind him and kicked his legs in. Instinctively he pulled the trigger but nothing happened, the pin wasn't even able to strike the primer. She put her shield in front of his face and smashed her knee into the back of his skull sandwiching his head between her knee and shield. The man slumped over unconscious.

She quietly jumped on it without being noticed and pulled her scroll out. She'd been told that it'd most likely be abandoned. Ozpin wouldn't lie unless he had some reason to, some ulterior motive. What could it be Pyrrha wondered. It was ludicrous to even consider that he might want Torchwick out. If that was the case why send her at all? But why send her with faulty information?

She focused the camera and had a perfect shot of Romans face along with the logo of the warehouse in the background when suddenly something struck her face knocking her off the cat walk. She fell to the floor of the warehouse. She put her shield beneath her to absorb most of the impact and rolled to disperse the rest.

She quickly stood up with her shield and spear at the ready. She found herself surrounded by about six guards armed with swords. "All righty then. You aren't the red I was hoping to talk to." She glanced up and saw Roman Torchwick standing over her. Suddenly her mission parameters changed. Her only choice was to get Torchwick himself. "Well Assassin isn't back yet so Neo, you're up." Pyrrha's eyes widened. Suddenly she knew how he escaped. Roman Torchwick was a Master.

Before Pyrrha could react the shaft of an umbrella came down on to her shoulder. She blocked it with her spear and pushed back. A young looking girl with pink and brown hair stood in front of her all the sudden. Pyrrha changed her spear into a sword and tried to attack but the girl, Neo presumably, managed to dodge each strike. She changed up tactics and tried to stab Neo only to have her sword parried. Neo tried to kick her again but Pyrrha blocked with her shield. Realizing she'd never win at close range she sent a magnetic burst in Neo's direction. Suddenly any metal on her person was thrown backwards taking her a long with it.

Pyrrha was about to fire her spear at Neo when suddenly a man with black hair and a large scythe fell between the two of them. "Change of plans girly." The man said as he stood up and looked at Roman. "Ozpin accepted your offer."


	8. Chapter 8

Authors note: Sorry about the long absence. Been super busy since I last updated in *checks last update* oh. OH. Either way heres the new chapter. I've already started on the next one so hopefully that won't take to awful long.

Chapter 8: Race Traitors

Kojiro looked around the second floor of the building. It was truly a decrepit place, one could only describe the smell as that of age and decay. Two White Fang guards laid on the floor behind them. Even with their aura it was a simple matter to kill them. As far as he could tell this endeavor would be a dead end. There were supplies as Blake had mentioned and a bunch of old cubicles but little more. No documents, no computers that could be in working order. He'd interrogated the two before killing them but it was obvious they wouldn't know anything about what had happened. Kojiro was about to leave to tell Blake this when he sensed a presence. "So, you're the enemy Lancer are you?" He said drawing his sword.

The air shimmered in front of him and a man in green armor with dual spears stood before him. "Diarmuid O' Duibne, First knight of the Fianna." He said, introducing himself.

"Sausaki Kojiro." Assassin replied as he brought his sword to the ready. "I'm surprised you introduced yourself so casually."

"The Code of Chivalry demands my opponent know my name. I would not have forced you to return it." Diarmuid said.

"Bushido commands I return the favor. But how would your master react to you doing this?" Kojiro asked assessing the situation. An assassin he may be, but his weapon was truly unfit for such a small space. His saving grace was Diarmuid would be in the same situation.

Diarmuid put the long spear on the floor and grabbed his short spear with both hands. "He didn't tell me not to. I assume you're here about last night?" Diarmuid said.

Kojiro smiled. "I was in the middle of an excellent nap. I'd like to know why that was interrupted." He replied. "I assume you know the answer to that."

Diarmuid smiled and pulled out a flash drive. "Defeat me and you will too." Diarmuid rushed him, his shorter spear offering some extra maneuverability. Kojiro was forced to stay on the defensive with no way out.

—

Blake and Sun stood outside the abandoned building. Back in the day it might have been a busy office building, but that would have been decades ago when this was a relatively nice neighborhood. Not some crime ridden ghetto that was mostly abandoned. The perfect place to find bitter and angry young people. People looking for someone to direct that anger at.

They'd made sure to arrive just a few minutes before the start of the meeting when the bulk of the people would show up. Any earlier or later and they'd stand out. They entered and put on their mask with everyone else and waited in the crowd for Assassin to contact them. The room was large, it probably once held a bunch of cubicles for office workers but had been cleared for a make shift stage with two lights like those used in theater on them. "Oh that's not good." Sun whispered to Blake. He nudged her and pointed to a large man with tribal Tattoos on the stage, on his right hand were three red marks.

"Damnit, the Lieutenant. He's one of the last people we want to have a servant." Blake said reassessing the situation. That mans history of violence combined with a servant was a terrible situation. Who knew how many people he'd kill? Next to him, along with a few other White Fang members, was a man with slick backed black hair and a brown vest over a white shirt. Maybe that was his servant?

"Thank you for joining us tonight." He said quieting the audience. "We are all here for the same reason. To end the oppression of our people at the hands of the humans!" As he said that the crowd erupted into cheers. He waited for the crowd to quiet before continuing. "We have recently come across a means by which we can finally achieve this once and for all. And we have the weapons with which to do it. Our attack earlier was only a taste of what is to come. A small snap shot of a grand tapestry!" The Faunus began cheering and raising their fists in triumph, celebrating this twisted and perverted victory. As he did the assumed Servant leaned in and whispered into the Lieutenants ear. "But there are those among us, those of our own kind, who would stand with the humans against us!"

As he said that the lights turned and focused on Sun and Blake. "So much for the disguises." Blake thought as she pulled out her swords. There were murmurs from those around them. Some of disgust but mostly of confusion.

"I see you didn't come here to surrender Blake." The lieutenant said.

The swords erupted into flames pushing the others back. "There were Faunus that died in that attack. I don't see how you can claim to be for Faunus when you clearly don't care who has to die to meet your goals."

The lieutenant shook his head. "Necessary sacrifices Blake." He said waving it away as if he'd already considered this argument and dismissed it. "If we are to truly be free from the humans then blood will have to be shed by all Faunus. Something you never understood. I didn't want to see them die either but the humans forced our hand. They forced it when they sent our brothers and sisters to die in their dust mines. To die in the streets without a roof over their head. When they sent us off to fight as meat shields against the Grim. But I say no more!" The crowd erupted into cheers as the Faunus around them grew brave and tried to subdue them.

"Yeah screw that noise." Sun said as he pulled a small rod about the length and diameter of a pen out of his pocket. In an instant it grew to about ten feet long and he swept the other Faunus aside. He slammed the pole into the ground with a thunderous boom. Silencing everyone, even the lieutenant. "You say you want freedom from the humans? Well I want something different! Where I come from it doesn't matter if you're human or Faunus. All that matters is your character. All that matters is you stick up for what you believe in and have the strength to back it up. I don't want freedom from humans, I want freedom with them! I want to put aside the problems of the past so we can all walk forward to a better a future!" Blake was shocked by Suns sudden oration skills. He'd always had a strong personality but she hadn't realized how charismatic he could be.

The lieutenant, however, didn't seem phased. "Then you're traitors to your own race. Berserker, get them."

Before Blake and Sun could react the largest man either of them had ever seen burst through a wall. He was clad in black armor from head to toe. A black fog made it difficult to see him almost as if it created an uncanny valley effect around him. Where his eyes were was a single red slit for him to see out of. "TURRRRRRR!" He yelled tossing his head back in rage.

Sun got his staff ready. "Time to try out this new Noble Phantasm." He extended it across the room hitting Berserker in the gut. But he seemed un-phased and merely stumbled back. "Oh that's not good." Sun said as he looked around. The Berserker grabbed one of the lights and red tendrils began spreading across it.

"We aren't winning this." Blake said as she pointed to several support pillars. "Let's let the building win this one." As she did Assassin came crashing through the ceiling on the other end of the room. He rolled just in time to avoid a green spearman with twin spears impaling him in the gut.

Sun nodded. "You and Assassin make a break for it. I'll take care of it." Sun put his hands together and closed his eyes as three yellow avatars of himself appeared.

Blake ran over to Assassin. "Come on we're out of here." She said as they began running for the exit. The spearman looked at them but decided to go after Sun. Assassin picked Blake up in his arms and ran out with blinding speed. Even so he got out just in time as the building collapsed. Others were out by the time they got there. Most had ditched their masks and run away. Blake looked over at the building. The air was thick with dust but she could still make out the figures of three people. Berserker, the Lieutenant, and Sun.

Blake pulled out her scroll and tried to call Yang but she didn't pick up. If she wasn't answering it was most likely cause she'd run into problems of her own. Blake looked back to the building. Sun was managing to hold his own against Berserker but it wouldn't last forever. He had Sun on the defensive with no sign of relenting. They had to get out of here, but she had no idea how they'd do it.

—

Ruby swung crescent rose at Archer yet again. Like each time before he simply dodged without a second thought, as of each second of the swing we're an hour for him. Sweat trickled down her face, her lungs yelled in pain each time she tried to take a breath. All evening she'd been trying to land at least one hit but Archers reflexes were inhuman. It was almost as if he dodged before she even began to move. She fired a bullet at him but he knocked it out of the way with one of his swords. "Are you done yet? Honestly the amount of energy you have is astounding." Archer said.

Ruby activated her semblance and rushed him hoping to catch him off balance. Instead Archer just side stepped and tripped her. "Not... giving up." She panted. "Gonna. Get you. And why... does an archer... use swords?"

Archer rolled his eyes. His masters persistence went far beyond admirable and into the realm of an annoyance. "Then at least catch your breath." He said throwing a towel at her. "You're no good to your team dead."

Ruby wiped her face and waited for her breathing to slow down before getting back up again. She picked up crescent rose and got ready to try again. After several minutes of the same results Archer put his swords away. "Enough of this." He said. "You don't have a chance of hitting me."

"If I don't try then I'll never know." Ruby said.

Archer grit his teeth. "It isn't a matter of trying. I'm a Servant, I transcend normal human limitations. You have no hope of even touching me." As arrogant as she was his last master at least had the skills and talent to back up her boasts and made a point not to say anything she couldn't back up. Ruby Rose saw the sky and decided to reach for the stars, as if any limit could be over come by hard work alone.

"But I can try." Ruby said.

Archer kicked her in the stomach knocking her out of the ring. "You should understand your limits. You think if you try hard enough things will work out? There are no happy endings for..."

"You think I don't know that?" Ruby yelled cutting Archer off mid sentence. Archer raised an eyebrow in surprise. Since he'd been summoned this was the first time she'd snapped at him. Her sweet and innocent disposition gave way to one of anger and sadness. "Did you know my mom was a huntress too? And because of that I never got to know her!" Ruby lunged at Archer bringing her scythe down on him. He stepped back to avoid it only to have a bullet come at him at point blank range. He barely dodged it in time. "She died when I was so young I can barely even remember what she looked like without pictures, I can't remember what she sounded like or what she was like as a person. I can't tell you how many nights I cried myself to sleep because I wanted a mother that would never come home, but never once did I stop being proud of being her daughter." Ruby swiped her scythe at his feel forcing archer to jump high above her. Ruby looked up at him, a fire in her eyes Archer had only seen in one other person. How long had it been since he'd seen them?

"She devoted her life to helping others and she gave her life for that! You think I'm just some stupid, naive little girl who thinks if she tries hard enough she'll get her fairy tale ending? You think I don't already know that walking this path is practically the same as suicide?! I know that if I keep this up, that if I become a huntress, then it will probably kill me, but not before it takes its time knocking me down and kicking me while I'm down there. I know that there's no fairy tale ending in store for me, but I don't care." Crescent rose folded up and she put it away. Archer fell back to the ground staring at his masters back. "I got to choose my own path in life and that's enough for me, and if I can help someone, even if it's just one person, get their fairy tail ending than that's good enough for me."

Ruby turned around and rose petals formed at Ruby's feet as she lunged forward. For just the briefest second, a second so short Archer almost hadn't noticed, Ruby had moved faster then he could see. Archer reached his hand out and grabbed Ruby's balled fist just before it struck his abdomen. "You... remind me of him." He muttered as he pushed her back as far as he could.

Before Ruby even hit the ground he swung around and raised his blade to the neck of a man who hadn't been there previously. Archer stared down the barrel of a gun held by a man with messy black hair wearing a long brown trench coat and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "Hello, Shirou."

Archer lowered his sword and folded his arms. "Dad, you're looking well."

Ruby looked at the two as she made the connection, the shock of the situation quickly fading away. "Archer, that's your dad?" She asked standing up. If that's what he called that man, well, what else could it mean? They appeared to have the same ethnicity but that was about it. The only other physical similarity they shared were their cold, lifeless eyes.

Archer ignored her. "I don't recall you ever making a pact with the World. And you certainly didn't have any legends worth spreading."

Archers Dad looked around finally settling on Ruby. Ruby stepped back, something about the mans cold, calculating demeanor was off putting to her. As insular as Archer could be there was still a bit of warmth to him. But this man? It felt like any warmth in him had long since been sapped away. "I know as much about that as you do. All I know is I was summoned in this world as an Assassin. But we can discuss that later. Ruby Rose, my master has an offer for your head master."

Ruby hesitated. "Archer, can we trust him."

Archer materialized his swords. "He's potentially an enemy servant, that's all that matters. The decision is yours." He said raising one to Assassin's neck. "We Servants put familial ties aside when serving our masters."

Ruby thought for a moment. "What's the offer?" She asked.

Assassin took his cigarette out of his mouth and knocked some of the ash off. "Information in exchange for clemency. He'll tell you who's leading the enemy servants as well as their ultimate goal, and offer his support in defeating them."

Ruby thought for a second. This could be a trap, Assassin was just trying to get close to Ozpin to kill him. But Ruby already knew who was in charge of the enemy servants, the White Fang. And whatever they were planning they probably weren't going to like it. Besides, if he wanted to kill Ozpin he'd have just avoided the two of them all together. Ruby certainly hadn't sensed him and if he could get that close to Archer before he sensed him then surely he had some sort of presence concealment. Archer hadn't noticed him until he had a gun to his head so it was well within his abilities. "All right. Follow me. Archer, keep an eye on him."

They took Assassin to Ozpins office. Ozpin sat at his desk alone with a mountain of paper work in front of him. He looked at the three of them and sighed. "Glynda." He said as he pushed an intercom button. "Please come to my office." He turned back to them and stood up. "Mrs. Rose. May I ask who you're new friend is?"

Assassin stepped forward and bowed. "I am Kiritsugu Emiya, Heroic Spirit of the Assassin class and Servant of Roman Torchwick." He said.

Ozpin leaned on his cane. "Well this explains that. And why are you here?" He asked.

Assassin explained his proposal as professor Goodwitch walked in. "Oh great, another one." She said, her facing dropping as if this mess was just becoming another annoyance in her busy schedule.

Ozpin thought for a moment. "And what if we reject your offer? And please put that cigarette out. You're in a school." He asked.

Kiritsugu complied crushing his cigarette in his bare hand. "I leave, and you never hear from us again."

Ozpin thought for a second before pulling his scroll out. "Qrow." He said in to it surprising Ruby. "Tell Torchwick we accept his offer." He put it away and looked back at them. "Now, tell us everything."

Kiritsugu nodded. "The masters of the Enemy servants are all affiliated with the terrorist organization called the White Fang, specifically the cell lead by Adam Taurus."

"Those monsters have servants?" Professor Goodwitch said with horror. "No wonder they did something so bold earlier."

Kiritsugu nodded. "Some of them are independent third parties he's managed to buy off, we're getting more information on that as we speak but that may take time."

Ozpin raised his hand quieting Professor Goodwitch. "And what do they want with this Holy Grail?" He asked.

"As far as my investigations have shown the same thing they've always wanted. To tip the balance of power in their favor. But I suspect they'll take it much, much further. My research on this Adam Taurus has been a tad, worrisome." Kiritsugu said. "The man is clearly unstable at a psychological level. He shows signs of sociopathy and a clearly obsessive personality type. With this much power and his position of influence and authority it will only make that much, much worse. As for their numbers you already know they possess a Saber, rider, archer, and a Lancer. They also possess an Assassin, two Berserkers, a Ruler, and a Caster."

Ozpin sat back at his desk and his scroll rang. "You're bringing her back? Excellent we should speak to her immediately." Ozpin said. "This has all been quite informative. Mrs. Rose, tell your teams to meet me in here first thing tomorrow morning. We have much to discuss. Assassin, I assume your master doesn't want to communicate directly?"

Kiritsugu nodded. "He isn't a big fan of the law."

"Very well, you and Qrow can act as go betweens." Ozpin replied. "Now I need you all to leave. Glynda and I have much to discuss.

—

It was nearly midnight as Pyrrha stood in Ozpins office. "I must say you performed exceptionally." Ozpin said, congratulating Pyrrha. "From what Qrow had said if Assassin had been a little later you may well have apprehended Torchwick yourself."

Pyrrha shifted nervously. "Thank you Professor, but I was wondering..."

"You wanted to know why I lied and was watching you." He said, finishing her sentence.

"What was the point of all this? Were you testing me or something?" Pyrrha asked.

Ozpin Smiled and leaned forward. "Tell me Mrs. Nikos, what's your favorite fairy tale?"


End file.
